Community Oncology Practices Delivering Innovative Cancer Treatment Despite Persistent Barriers to Access
Insurance coverage, upfront costs, and reimbursement challenges cited as key barriers in COA survey WASHINGTON, DC,
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Insurance coverage, upfront costs, and reimbursement challenges cited as key barriers in COA survey
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, October 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Independent community oncology practices are offering innovative cancer treatments, including cellular therapies, and preparing to expand their capabilities, but financial and operational barriers continue to challenge those efforts, according to a new survey from the Community Oncology Alliance (COA).
The 2026 COA Cellular Therapy Survey found that 40 percent of respondents are currently offering or planning to offer cellular therapies to eligible patients in their practices in 2026 or 2027. Responses described practices preparing to launch outpatient CAR T programs, or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, a treatment that modifies a patient’s own immune cells in a laboratory to help them recognize and attack cancer cells. Independent community oncology practices are working with apheresis partners to collect cells and hospital partners to provide access to acute care management of adverse events after infusion, should they occur.
“Independent community oncology practices are committed to bringing innovative therapies to patients close to home, but coverage, reimbursement, and operational requirements must support their ability to provide this care,” said Christine Pfaff, RPh, MBA, COA’s director of clinical initiatives. “These findings point to a clear opportunity: supporting independent community oncology practices with workable coverage policies and the resources needed to deliver complex treatments can help bring innovation closer to the patients who need it.”
Preparing to Expand, but Financial, Operational Barriers Persist
Forty percent of respondents plan to offer cellular therapies in 2026 or 2027. The most frequently reported barriers to starting or maintaining a cellular therapy program were inconsistent insurance coverage (54 percent of respondents) and upfront program costs (52 percent). Other challenges included time-intensive single-case agreements with insurers (44 percent), accreditation requirements (40 percent), and monitoring patients after hours and on weekends (38 percent).
When asked what support would help their practices build or maintain a program, approximately 76 percent selected fair product coverage and reimbursement, and 71 percent selected reimbursement for patient navigation and monitoring. Respondents also sought financial planning tools, opportunities to learn from other community practices, and guidance on hospital and apheresis partnerships.
These cellular therapy findings complement COA’s recent bispecific therapy survey results, in which 91.4 percent of 93 respondents reported that their practices already administer bispecific therapies in-office. Bispecific therapies are designed to bind to two targets at once, with some bringing immune cells and cancer cells together to help the immune system attack the cancer.
Together, the surveys underscore independent oncology practices’ commitment to bringing innovative treatments to patients. With cellular therapy respondents describing plans to launch CAR T programs and develop outpatient capabilities, community practices are building on that commitment to expand the treatment options available close to home.
Read the full survey: https://mycoa.communityoncology.org/publications/studies-and-reports/2026-coa-cellular-therapy-survey.
About the Survey
COA conducted the survey over four weeks in July and August 2026, distributing it through its Board of Directors, COPA, and the COA Administrators’ Network. Fifty individuals responded, including 47 who identified themselves as working in independent community oncology practices. Respondents represented a range of clinical and administrative roles and reported locations in 29 states; not all respondents identified their state. The results describe the participating respondents and should not be interpreted as national prevalence estimates.
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About the Community Oncology Alliance
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that patients have access to the highest-quality, most affordable, cutting-edge cancer care close to home. COA is the only national organization focused exclusively on community oncology, where the majority of Americans with cancer receive treatment. Through policy, advocacy, and community, COA works to support independent community oncology practices and advance access to high-quality cancer care for patients nationwide. Learn more at www.communityoncology.org.
Drew Lovejoy
Community Oncology Alliance
info@coacancer.org
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