Obama, NCCN win endorsements in online poll surveys

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s health plan bested the plan put forth by Republican Sen. John McCain in an online survey posted at www.CancerNetwork.com (see “Which healthcare reform approach do you favor?,” October 2008, page 5).

One week before the election, 56% of Oncology News International readers (and cancernetwork.com users) were in favor of Sen. Obama’s plan in comparison to 18% who expressed support for Sen. McCain’s proposal. Nine percent said that they favored another plan while 14% said they did not know. Three percent declined to support any plan.

Both candidates released Both candidates released high-level cancer plans in September. Sen. Obama pledged $10 billion in funding for the National Cancer Institutes and other research organizations.

Sen. McCain promised that “our researchers will have necessary funding to defeat cancer once and for all.”

In an Oncology News International exclusive, experts weighed in on the future of cancer care.

In addition to a scarcity of financial support for research, the cancer care community faces a workforce shortage (see “Will presidential candidates’ promises to cancer research be enough?,” October 2008, page 5).

A recent survey at the New England Journal of Medicine Web site found that respondents considered healthcare reform very important, but with less support for either candidate’s plan.

Results from an earlier survey indicate that Oncology News International readers support the use of the NCCN cancer drug compendium as a basis for reimbursement decisions. Fifty-two percent of the respondents said that they were in favor of using the NCCN guidelines. Finally, another 12% said they were not in favor of using the NCCN guidelines.

Interestingly, 35% of those surveyed said they did not know or were unsure about the guidelines. This is in line with payer concerns about whether the guidelines are appropriate (see “Payers budget to get right targeted drug to right patient,” September 2008, page 1).

Check out this month’s poll question on page 2 and register your vote at www.CancerNetwork.com.