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# Study finds 68.5% of US counties have no radiation oncology clinic, closures skew rural
- URL: https://members.americanhealthintel.com/2026-07-22-serviceline/
- Published: 2026-07-22T21:05:19.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-22T21:05:19.000Z
- Description: Plus: CMS proposes cutting 340B cancer-drug payment 37 points, from ASP+6% to ASP-33.4%. The day's rules, money, and enforcement, sourced and tiered below.
- Author: American Health Intel

Plus: CMS proposes cutting 340B cancer-drug payment 37 points, from ASP+6% to ASP-33.4%. The day's rules, money, and enforcement, sourced and tiered below.

| American Health Intel Rules · Money · Medicine · Decoded daily The Service Line Wednesday, July 22, 2026 Study finds 68.5% of US counties have no radiation oncology clinic, closures skew rural Plus: CMS proposes cutting 340B cancer-drug payment 37 points, from ASP+6% to ASP-33.4%. The day's rules, money, and enforcement, sourced and tiered below. ![](https://americanhealthintel.com/email/pulse-divider.png) Report Confidence: High A new peer-reviewed study found more than two-thirds of U.S. counties, home to 50.8 million people, now have no radiation oncology clinic, the specialty that delivers cancer-killing radiation treatment. Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found 13.6% of counties lost radiation oncology sites since 2018, mostly rural and poorer areas. Medicare radiation therapy pay is down over 25% in a decade. Why it matters This matters because where you live increasingly determines whether you can get radiation therapy without traveling far, and the gap is widening in poorer, rural areas. Sources: [Mountsinai](https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom/2026/loss-of-radiation-therapy-clinics-could-widen-cancer-care-gaps-across-the-united-states?ref=members.americanhealthintel.com) · [Redjournal](https://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016%2826%2903986-6/fulltext?ref=members.americanhealthintel.com) Rule Confidence: High CMS, the agency that runs Medicare, proposed cutting what hospitals get paid for 340B-acquired cancer drugs, the discounted drugs hospitals buy through a federal program, by 37 percentage points starting 2027. The rate drops from ASP+6% to ASP-33.4%. Comments close Aug 31, 2026\. CMS is separately accelerating repayment of a $7.8 billion 340B debt to hospitals, from 0.5% to 3% of drug payments a year. Why it matters This is a proposal, not final law yet, but if it holds it directly cuts what hospitals earn on discounted cancer drugs, which could change where you get treated as hospitals reassess their infusion programs. Sources: [CMS](https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/calendar-year-2027-hospital-outpatient-prospective-payment-system-opps-ambulatory-surgical-center?ref=members.americanhealthintel.com) · [Appliedpolicy](https://www.appliedpolicy.com/cms-proposes-major-cy-2027-opps-asc-changes-targeting-340b-payments-site-neutral-policy-ipo-list-phase-out-and-asc-expansion/?ref=members.americanhealthintel.com) Also today Maryland chemo practice and owner pay $1.45M to settle DOJ fraud allegations [Read](https://americanhealthintel.com/editions/2026-07-22-serviceline/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition#progressive-oncology-hematology-fca-settlement) CareDx pays up to $260M for Naveris and its HPV-associated cancer blood test [Read](https://americanhealthintel.com/editions/2026-07-22-serviceline/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition#caredx-naveris-hpv-cancer-diagnostics) FDA approves first anticancer drug delivered via on-body injector [Read](https://americanhealthintel.com/editions/2026-07-22-serviceline/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition#sarclisa-escena-subcutaneous-approval) 211Records$16.5BEnforcement8Deadlines73Rules [Read this issue + the trackers](https://americanhealthintel.com/editions/2026-07-22-serviceline/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition) Pick your field on the site and every story tells you what it means for you. Reply to this email and tell us what you want covered. We read everything. We show our work. We score our own calls. [Track record](https://americanhealthintel.com/ledger/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition) · [Calendar](https://americanhealthintel.com/calendar/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition) · [Enforcement](https://americanhealthintel.com/enforcement/?utm%5Fsource=newsletter&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fcampaign=edition) · [X](https://x.com/amhealthintel?ref=members.americanhealthintel.com) · [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-health-intel?ref=members.americanhealthintel.com) News and analysis, not legal, medical, coding, or investment advice.You subscribed at americanhealthintel.com · [Unsubscribe](%%{unsubscribe%5Furl}%%) |
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