Guidelines to be used in determining when patient care costs will be paid by funds allocated from NCI’s Cancer Control Program have been adopted and are now in force.
The Cancer Control Program was mandated by Congress in the National Cancer Act as a major effort to spread the fruits of research as widely as possible. The program is not designed to support the treatment of patients. It will involve demonstration projects and community outreach programs. Since there were no clear definitions of the program’s parameters, regulations were needed relating to patient costs before NCI could start awarding the $30 million in contracts and grants CCP will have in fiscal 1974.
The guidelines provide that:
- CCP funds may be used for patient costs only when such costs have been approved and budgeted. Participation in a project does not relieve the patient or third-party carrier of responsibility for “ordinary and routine medical care.”
- CCP funds may pay costs that are specifically required by the protocol. This may include support of personnel and other operational costs for a specific unit which provides the service or by payment of individual procedure costs as performed. It also may include payment for specific lab and other procedures which would not have been performed except for participation in the project.
- In most cases, projects will be carried on as outpatient projects. In those cases where the protocol specifically requires hospitalization, CCP funds may support such inpatient costs.
- Transportation costs of screenees will not be provided. Transportation costs of cancer patients enrolled in CCP projects will be provided only in special cases where the patient cannot participate unless such costs are paid.
- When CCP funds are used to provide for procedures or professional fees, no other party may be charged for such costs.
Cost sharing will be encouraged for both CCP contracts and grants.
- Where an institutional cost-sharing agreement is in effect, the cost-sharing arrangement for CCP contracts or grants will be consistent with such institutional agreement.
- If there is no institutional agreement, cost-sharing arrangements will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
