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chemotherapy regime, the patient begins regular, periodic
treatments. The patient does not select the type or quantity of
drugs used in the treatments; this selection is within the sole
discretion of petitioner’s professional staff. In accordance
with standard oncology practice, patients are not examined by a
physician at every chemotherapy treatment but are usually
reexamined by a physician every 4 to 6 weeks during the ongoing
course of treatments. Any changes in the future course of
treatments are documented in the patient's file at that time.
Petitioner's personnel mix and otherwise prepare the
chemotherapy drugs that petitioner administers to a patient; the
chemotherapy drugs cannot be self-administered. One of
petitioner's oncology nurses generally performs the
administration, and a physician is always on site to respond to
emergencies. The physician is not always in the room during the
administration.
Petitioner is a participating provider with Medicare1 and
several other private insurance carriers. Virtually all of
petitioner's patients who receive chemotherapy treatments are
covered by Medicare or private insurance, and those patients are
billed only for the cost of the treatments to the extent of
co-payments, deductibles, and other uncovered charges. For each
1 See Health Insurance for Aged Act, Pub. L. 89-97, 79 Stat.
291 (1965), currently codified at 42 U.S.C. secs. 1395 through
1395ccc (1994).
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