Understanding the Shifts Taking Place Across the Oncology Market

The oncology market is experiencing sustained pressure from policy uncertainty, reimbursement constraints, workforce shortages, and accelerating clinical innovation. These forces are converging in ways that directly affect cancer care delivery, financial performance, and patient access across health systems. Oncology leaders are taking action to strengthen financial resiliency, sustain cancer care programs, and support providers, but doing so now requires navigating a far more complex operating environment than in prior years.

For organizations supporting oncology care, staying ahead of market shifts is no longer optional. Knowledge of emerging trends, structural constraints, and threats to revenue has become a prerequisite for sustaining high-quality cancer services.

Some of the Shifts Occurring in the Oncology Market Today

Policy Uncertainty Continues to Reshape Cancer Programs

The sustainability of cancer programs is under strain, even as new and innovative treatments enter the market. Threats to viability include tariffs on pharmaceuticals, reduced federal matching funds in certain states, and research funding cuts that are disrupting clinical studies and limiting patient access to government-funded treatments. Recent analyses indicate that hundreds of millions of dollars in cancer research funding have already been reduced or redirected, with downstream effects on clinical trial availability and care equity.

Reimbursement Pressure and Tightening Margins

Medicaid changes are adversely impacting reimbursements, and proposed federal policies may further reduce reimbursement for drugs and nonreimbursable services, particularly for 340B hospitals serving vulnerable populations. At the same time, radiation therapy direct costs, labor expenses, and capital requirements continue to rise. The result is margin compression that limits reinvestment and, in some cases, restricts patient access to innovative therapies.

Innovation is Driving New Care Delivery Models

As drug approvals increase and the pipeline of oncology therapies expands, care delivery models must evolve in parallel. Innovation is no longer confined to treatment modalities alone. Oncology leaders are rethinking how care is coordinated across specialties, sites of service, and partner organizations to ensure new therapies can be delivered efficiently and sustainably.

Patient Demographics and Expectations are Shifting

Younger patients are increasingly seeking access to cutting-edge clinical trials, while older patients often require more complex, resource-intensive care. Serving this broader and more diverse patient population places additional strain on already stretched oncology programs. Health systems are being forced to rethink how they compete for talent, manage capacity, and meet rising expectations without compromising quality or access.

Managing Volatility in Cancer Volumes and Revenue

Projections indicate that cancer incidence will continue to rise over the next several years, with notable increases expected in lung and hematologic cancers. Oncology programs are being asked to absorb this growth despite shortages in oncologists and clinical staff, reduced research funding, referral leakage, and ongoing revenue pressure.

Oncology leaders are responding with urgency and discipline. Rather than waiting for clarity from Washington, many are actively identifying vulnerabilities, protecting reimbursement structures, and building more resilient revenue models. Workforce engagement and provider support remain central to these efforts.

At The Health Management Academy (THMA) Oncology Forum, members engage directly with policy experts to understand how regulatory shifts may affect oncology operations and what strategies are proving effective across Leading Health Systems. The forum creates space for candid discussion of how organizations are adapting in real time.

Evaluating Emerging Technologies with Operational Discipline

The projected increase in cancer cases is accelerating interest in technologies that streamline workflows, improve productivity, and support cost management. Oncology leaders are increasingly selective, evaluating not just what is possible, but what is practical to implement at scale.

THMA convenes confidential, peer-level discussions between oncology service line leaders and innovative healthcare companies to examine how emerging technologies are being integrated into cancer care environments. These conversations focus on operational fit, clinical impact, and long-term sustainability, not product demonstrations.

Leadership Models Matter More Than Ever

Effective leadership is essential for navigating the current oncology environment. The THMA Oncology Forum explores how service line leadership structures are evolving and how authority, accountability, and influence vary across organizations. Understanding these dynamics is critical for both health system leaders and industry partners seeking to collaborate effectively.

While oncology leaders may not control every response to policy or reimbursement changes, they often retain decision-making authority over clinical platforms, operational investments, and partner relationships. They value collaborators who understand healthcare system dynamics and bring informed, consultative perspectives grounded in real-world experience.

Innovation Grounded in Reality

Innovation remains essential, but it must be rooted in operational reality. Across oncology programs, leaders are focused on:

• Redesigning workflows to improve productivity

• Advancing therapies and treatment approaches to improve outcomes

• Recruiting and retaining staff to stabilize the workforce

• Developing care delivery models to protect patient access

THMA’s Oncology Forum fosters transparent, closed-door conversations around these priorities. System-level oncology service line executives, both physician and administrative leaders, convene alongside senior leaders from innovative healthcare companies in an intimate, retreat-style setting held twice annually.

Built on shared learning, peer exchange, and collaborative problem-solving, the forum is designed to address a central question facing oncology leaders today: how can organizations protect equitable, high-quality cancer care while adapting to sustained market pressure?