Advocacy Spotlight: David Eagle, MD/Past President, COA
Chief of Legislative Affairs and Patient Advocacy, New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, East Patchogue, N.Y.
Standing up for what’s best for patients is at the heart of community oncology. It’s what drove David Eagle, MD, to join COA two decades ago.
Dr. Eagle was early in his career when the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) passed, a policy with potentially grave implications for his own practice and the millions of people that depended on community oncology for their cancer care.
“It was critical for community oncology to raise its collective voice during an existential moment for patients and providers across the country,” Dr. Eagle said. “Our advocacy was integral to keeping both my practice and community oncology alive.”
Through a unified voice, the advocacy efforts of Dr. Eagle and countless others shaped the MMA to support an environment where community oncology could thrive and serve patients in the preferred treatment setting: within their community.
Dr. Eagle holds the same sentiment 20 years later. The cancer policy landscape remains ever-changing, as federal and state policymakers, along with middlemen insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, increasingly dictate cancer care decisions. Dr. Eagle believes that by bringing every voice to the table, COA can continue to shape policies that preserve and advance community oncology.
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