Enhancing Biosimilar Adoption in Value-Based Oncology Care

Travis Brewer, vice president of payer and public health strategy at Texas Oncology, highlighted biosimilars' role in making cancer care more affordable and accessible, especially for underserved populations. He stressed the need to balance cost-effectiveness with efficacy and called for greater payer trust in oncologists' biosimilar selections. Brewer also advocated for expanding "gold carding" to reduce prior authorization hurdles, promoting smoother biosimilar adoption in value-based care models.

This transcript has been edited for clarity; captions were auto-generated.

Transcript

In a value-based oncology care model, what role do biosimilars play in ensuring equitable access to cancer treatments, especially for underserved patient populations?

Well, to the extent that you have, , biosimilars available, that that may be more cost effective, yet equally efficacious, relative to a particular treatment regimen, I think that goes a long way. Going back to the original cost-containment idea, so the more affordable you can make cancer care, the more accessible it is to to to broader populations.

That said, it's not always the best idea to just pick the cheapest if the cheapest isn't the best. You have to balance that with the efficacy of the treatment.

Can value-based oncology care models incentivize more rapid biosimilar uptake, and if so, what mechanisms should be in place to ensure their successful implementation?

That's really where the payers come in. We, as a practice, do a very good job of monitoring what's available on the market, what is the most efficacious, and then balance that with what is the most cost-effective. Unfortunately, at times we'll find that what we think the correct answer is, is not what the payer prefers, and the payer prefers brand B, C, or D.

And then it becomes a little difficult from a practice management perspective to keep on hand every "flavor" of biosimilar that's out there. I've told payers before we are not Baskin-Robbins. We don't carry all the flavors. That can lend itself to some conflicts with the payer.

So, I think the payers opening themselves up to trusting the community oncology providers a little more relative to the selection of biosimilars would go a long way in this space.

How do current reimbursement policies and payer models impact the integration of biosimilars into value-based oncology care, and what changes are necessary to promote their wider adoption?

I think opening up some of the prior authorization guidelines, more gold carding for trusted physician groups. I push for a gold card every chance I get, and I have absolutely no issue with with a payer coming back on the back end and saying, "Okay, well, let me take a look at 10- year files and see if it's not the fox guarding the hen house here."

We really are doing the right things for the right reasons. So, I think there's an opportunity to partner more with the payers on that front and get the payers to back off. And the best way to get them to back off is to show that we are consistently providing the highest-value care in the most cost-effective manner.