A New Prescription: Can a Nonprofit Model Save Community Cancer Care?

NASHVILLE, TN – July 09, 2026 – The independent physician’s office, once a cornerstone of American life, is becoming an endangered species. Nowhere is this trend more alarming than in oncology, where the steady consolidation of community cancer centers into large hospital systems and corporate networks threatens to depersonalize one of the most vulnerable moments in a person’s life. But a new initiative, backed by an unconventional alliance of healthcare strategists and institutional investors, is mounting a sophisticated counter-offensive.

Radiation Business Solutions (RBS), a Nashville-based advisory firm, has officially launched the Anoma Cancer Collective (ACC), a nonprofit network designed not merely to slow the tide of consolidation, but to reverse it. By creating a structure that offers independent practices the benefits of scale without the loss of autonomy, ACC represents a deliberate, and meticulously engineered, pivot away from a system that, in the words of its founders, “too often treats physicians like vendors and patients like transactions.”

A System Under Siege

The pressures forcing the hands of community oncologists are immense and multifaceted. Decades of declining reimbursement rates, labyrinthine insurance rules, and soaring administrative costs have created an environment where independent survival is a daily struggle. Market data paints a stark picture: between 2015 and 2022, while the number of medical oncologists grew by nearly 15%, the number of independent practices shrank by 18%. The result is fewer, larger entities controlling the delivery of care.

This consolidation is fueled by economic incentives that often have little to do with patient outcomes. Disparities in payment systems, such as the 340B drug pricing program, can make it more lucrative for hospitals to acquire oncology practices, creating a gravitational pull that independent centers find difficult to resist. For physicians, the choice becomes a grim one: sell out to a larger system or risk financial collapse. For patients, it can mean longer travel times, loss of a trusted local care team, and navigating a bureaucratic, impersonal healthcare machine.

“Community providers should not have to choose between independence and stability,” said Dan Moore, CEO of Radiation Business Solutions, in a statement. He argues that the burdens facing physicians can be met with a better economic structure—one that benefits patients, families, and communities, not just a corporate balance sheet.

The Nonprofit Blueprint: A Financial and Operational Lifeline

The Anoma Cancer Collective is that new structure. Built over 18 months with a $10 million investment from RBS, ACC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation. This designation is the key to its strategy. As a nonprofit, ACC can access tax-exempt financing through the municipal bond market, a source of capital that is typically cheaper and more stable than conventional bank loans or private equity. RBS has already demonstrated its expertise in this arena, having placed over $300 million in bonds for radiation centers.

For the eight initial cancer centers across five states joining ACC, this model is a lifeline. It provides the capital needed for technology upgrades, facility expansions, and investments in emerging treatments like theranostics, allowing them to compete with their larger rivals. In exchange for joining the collective, these centers gain access to a suite of shared services, including centralized billing, revenue cycle management, and operational support, freeing clinicians from administrative tasks to focus on patient care.

This isn't RBS’s first foray into this model. The firm previously established the Aurora Integrated Oncology Foundation (AIOF) in Alaska, a successful nonprofit structure that unified several independent centers. The performance of AIOF was strong enough to convince institutional investors Baird Advisors and Capital Research and Management Company to return for this new, larger venture, joined by First Eagle Investment Management. Their participation signals a growing confidence on Wall Street that mission-driven, sustainable healthcare can also be a sound investment.

Putting the 'Community' Back in Cancer Care

While the financial architecture is innovative, the stated mission is profoundly human. ACC was created for practices that are, as RBS COO Sally Eggleston noted, “strong today, but who need a stronger structure for tomorrow.” It’s a proactive strategy to preserve what works in community medicine.

Dr. Hejal Patel, the Chief Medical Officer of ACC, emphasized this point. “I chose to join Anoma Cancer Collective because it addresses the realities community oncology leaders are facing,” she explained. “This model gives centers a way to invest in their future and strengthen what they already do well. It allows them to continue to deliver high-quality care without giving up their independence.”

For patients and their families, the impact is tangible. Preserving local clinics means care remains close to home, reducing the immense logistical and emotional burden of traveling for treatment. It means being treated by a physician who is also a community member, fostering a level of trust and personalization that is often the first casualty of consolidation. By handling the business-side pressures, the ACC model aims to protect the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship.

A Model for the Future?

RBS and its investors are betting that this is more than just a niche solution for oncology. The firm has been tasked with growing the ACC network by more than 60 percent and is already exploring how to apply the nonprofit collective model to other medical specialties facing similar existential threats.

This long-term vision reframes the Anoma Cancer Collective from a simple business launch into a potential paradigm shift. It is a direct challenge to the prevailing wisdom that efficiency and scale can only be achieved through massive, centralized corporations. Instead, it proposes a federated model: a network of independent, community-focused providers united by a shared mission and supported by a sophisticated, nonprofit financial backbone.

“Our mission is to build RBS into a hundred-year company in some form or another, one that continues to impact families long after any one transaction is complete,” Moore stated, looking beyond the immediate launch. “ACC is the expression of that mission. It is not about chasing the market. It is about building something worthy of physicians, patients, and the communities that trust them.”