1,653 Community Oncology Clinics and/or Practices Have Closed, Been Acquired by Hospitals, Merged, or Reported Financial Struggles Since 2008

Misguided Public Policies Continue Push and Pull on Community Oncology Practices

The 2018 Community Oncology Alliance (COA) Practice Impact Report tracks the changing landscape of community cancer care in the United States. This is the seventh practice impact report issued by COA and covers a ten-year period from January 2008 through February 2018.

The 2018 COA Practice Impact Report data shows that over the last decade, 1,653 community oncology clinics and/or practices have closed, been acquired by hospitals, undergone corporate mergers, or reported that they are struggling financially. An average of 3.5 community oncology practices have closed per month, a rate that remains unchanged since the last report issued in 2016. Overall, 13.8 practices per month have closed, been acquired by hospitals, or undergone mergers since 2008.

The 2018 Community Oncology Practice Impact Report data shows:

• 423 clinics closed — Individual clinic treatment sites that have
• 658 practices acquired by hospitals – Practices (typically comprised of multiple clinic sites) acquired by a hospital or, with less frequency, have entered into a contractual professional services agreement binding them to a
• 168 practices merged or acquired – Practices (typically comprised of multiple clinic sites) merged or acquired by a corporate
• 359 practices struggling financially – Practices (typically comprised of multiple clinic sites) having financial difficulties, struggling to pay bills and/or stay
• 45 practices sending patients elsewhere – Practices (typically comprised of multiple clinic sites) sending their Medicare patients elsewhere for

Since the last Practice Impact Report in 2016, the data show an 11.3% increase in the number of community cancer clinic closings and an 8% increase in the number of consolidations into the hospital setting. Note that the number of practices struggling financially has declined by 7.9% which is proportional to the number of practices that have been acquired or moved into the hospital setting.

Compiled from public and private data sources, the 2018 Practice Impact Report provides a unique look at community oncology trends at both the national and state levels. At the state level, the largest number of closures is again in Florida (47), followed by Texas (43) and Michigan (36).