Thanking Dr. Menashe and Compass Oncology
The involvement of Dr. Jeffrey Menashe and Compass Oncology with Project Access followed a conversation with Mark Rosenberg, current Project Access NOW Board Chair. Dr. Menashe then proposed that the group join the system and Compass Oncology jumped on board in April 2008. According to Dr. Menashe, “It was a good thing to do and a no-brainer. We’re happy to be a part of [Project Access].”
Compass Oncology, a group of medical, radiation, and gynecological oncologists and hematologists, had been providing volunteer care for the uninsured based on their policy of treating anyone who comes in. “Project Access streamlines our care for the uninsured,” Dr. Menashe said. “It’s a question of how we provide that care. Piecemeal provision won’t use resources in the best way, so it should be more planned and more universal.”
Dr. Menashe sees the benefits of Project Access beyond his and the group’s practice. “We’re a part of the medical community serving people without insurance, and it’s the medical community’s and the whole society’s responsibility to provide access to care to people. It’s good to see that people have stepped up.”
Dr. Menashe encourages every physician to join Project Access. “If there are more physicians participating, it benefits patients who can’t afford care, and other practices, which get to share the responsibility,” he said. Wide participation helps create a more fair system of healthcare for which we’re all accountable. I wouldn’t feel good if another physician was accepting more uninsured patients and suffering as a result. All oncology groups agreed to be in the pool to share patients without insurance equally. It’s a very equitable deal, where everyone’s happy to provide care without carrying all the weight.”
Thank you, Dr. Menashe and Compass Oncology, for your involvement and efforts.
(May 2009)
