More specifics around radiation therapy dodging the reimbursement bullet that I believe left VAR and TOMO in an uncertain situation, esp. as relating to more rural free-standing centers TOMO is targeting w/ TOMO Mobile. My assumption was that the proposed Medicare cuts were the primary factor behind the recent 25% haircut, and I did expect a bigger lift with this news than we actually got. VAR's market cap increased by ~$400M as a result of this news...

"ASTRO had asked CMS to not implement proposed changes to the Medicare policies and payment rates for physician services that would have cut radiation oncology services by 19 percent, with certain services being cut by up to 44 percent. An ASTRO survey conducted in July indicated cuts of this scale would have a particularly devastating effect on community-based cancer centers and the patients they treat. The final rule released on October 30 is slated to reduce radiation oncology payments by only 5 percent over a four-year period. In other words, the proposed 19 percent cut for next year has been significantly reduced to only about a 1 percent cut for 2010."

http://www.smartbrief.com/news/aaaa/indu...