2026 Payer Exchange & Innovation Summit Brings Together Practices, Payers, Employers, and Cancer Care Leaders

TYSONS CORNER, VA, UNITED STATES, September 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is convening leaders from across the cancer care system September 14–15 in Tysons Corner, Virginia, for the 2026 Payer Exchange & Innovation Summit, an invitation-only gathering focused on new approaches to improving the quality, affordability, and patient experience of cancer care.

Formerly the Payer Exchange Summit, the event has expanded its focus in 2026 to put a greater spotlight on innovation in community oncology. This evolution reflects the increasingly important role independent community oncology practices play in developing and implementing new approaches to care delivery, payment, technology, and practice operations.

The two-day Payer Exchange & Innovation Summit agenda reflects the rapidly changing cancer care environment. Sessions examine the implementation of artificial intelligence in community oncology, data-driven approaches to utilization management, bundled payment models, emerging models for delivering cellular therapy, and new approaches to employer-sponsored cancer care. The Summit also explores COA research examining the quality and value of care delivered in the community setting.

The Payer Exchange & Innovation Summit builds on the innovation focus COA emphasized at the 2026 Community Oncology Conference, extending that conversation into a forum specifically designed to bring community oncology together with payers, employers, and other stakeholders.

New Workshop Focuses on the Business of Community Oncology

Immediately preceding the Payer Exchange & Innovation Summit, COA hosted the Business of Community Oncology Workshop, a new, smaller-format program focused on the operational fundamentals that help independent oncology practices succeed.

Rather than using a traditional conference format, the inaugural workshop was structured as an interactive working session in which community oncology leaders compared performance, shared approaches that work in their practices, and identified concrete improvements they could implement after returning home. The workshop culminated with participants identifying practical changes to test in their practices.

“The Business of Community Oncology is about getting very practical in a small-group workshop setting,” said Shiela Plasencia, director of practice support at COA. “Independent oncology practices are incredibly complex businesses, and operational excellence directly supports their ability to care for patients. We want practice leaders learning from one another, comparing what works, and leaving with ideas they can put into action when they get home.”

The workshop builds on COA’s broader practice-support mission and its peer-to-peer networks, including the COA Administrators’ Network (CAN), which connects community oncology practice leaders to share operational strategies and solutions.

More information and the full Payer Exchange & Innovation Summit agenda are available at www.PayerExchangeandInnovationSummit.com.

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About the Community Oncology Alliance
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that patients have access to the highest-quality, most affordable, cutting-edge cancer care close to home. COA is the only national organization focused exclusively on community oncology, where the majority of Americans with cancer receive treatment. Through policy, advocacy, and community, COA works to support independent community oncology practices and advance access to high-quality cancer care for patients nationwide. Learn more at www.communityoncology.org.

Drew Lovejoy
Community Oncology Alliance
info@coacancer.org