ACCESS Initiative targets inequities in cell therapy

NMDP^SM and the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) are taking aim at inequities in patient access to treatment and treatment outcomes.

The ASTCT-NMDP ACCESS Initiative brings together stakeholders across the blood stem cell transplant and cell therapy space to create sustained, meaningful change.

Despite treatment advances that allow more patients to have a blood stem cell transplant, like the use of partially matched donors with successful patient outcomes, access and outcomes disparities remain.

In 2022, our organizations formed the ACCESS Initiative to disrupt the status quo so we can reduce barriers to cell therapy—which includes blood stem cell transplant—and improve outcomes. We’ll do so by implementing practice and policy changes.

The ACCESS Initiative focuses on two key areas:

• Awareness
• Economic empowerment

The Awareness Committee focuses on initiatives that will increase awareness among hematologists/oncologists about new transplant and cell therapy research and treatment options. It’s also working to extend awareness to the patient community to empower patients to advocate for themselves and make informed decisions about their care.

The committee’s work has already led to the Regional Physician Exchange Program (Opens in a new tab), which gives hematology/oncology physicians and transplant physicians a platform to collaborate.

Other initiatives include:

• Increasing patient knowledge by developing easy-to-access educational resources that are representative of all the communities we serve
• Developing the transplant and cell therapy community by creating a pipeline program that’s welcoming for all trainees
• Optimizing data to gain a center-level understanding of health metrics that offer insights into areas where there are greater or acute needs for improving access

The Economic Empowerment Committee is working on identifying patients who are at high risk of having poor outcomes due to economic barriers such as inadequate or no insurance coverage. The committee is developing patient-, center- and policy-related initiatives to improve access and survival.

Addressing Medicaid coverage challenges

As a pilot project, the committee commissioned a survey of all 50 states to understand the Medicaid-coverage landscape for blood stem cell transplant and cell therapy. Medicaid is a state-run health care program that provides health care coverage for people who have a low income or are disabled or in long-term care facilities.

The survey revealed variations and coverage gaps for blood stem cell transplant and cell therapy. As a result, NMDP and ASTCT are:

• Creating clinical guidelines that state Medicaid offices can reference
• Facilitating outreach to targeted state Medicaid programs
• Asking the targeted programs to change their coverage to align with current care standards and remove barriers to treatment

Access the analysis (Opens in a new tab) published in the journal Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.

The work has only begun. The ACCESS Initiative needs broad support and participation from those across the transplant and cell therapy ecosystem to overcome the chronic barriers to treatment and ensure that all patients can find a donor. This includes:

• Transplant, cell therapy and hematology/oncology clinicians and institutions program administrators
• Health policy experts
• Health services researchers
• Payer organizations
• Federal and state stakeholders

Discover how you can get involved in the ACCESS Initiative to increase access to transplant and cell therapy and reduce inequities.