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2022 Oklahoma Legislative Priorities

Victory in the fight against cancer requires bold new public policies that promote cancer prevention, early detection of cancer, and expand access to quality, affordable health care. Lawmakers make many decisions that impact the lives of Oklahoma residents touched by cancer and their leadership is vital to defeating this disease. In 2022 the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) will work with the Oklahoma Legislature on legislative and regulatory efforts that address disruption in cancer care and screenings; provide affordable, adequate access to healthcare insurance including Medicaid; as well as ensure adequate funding for lifesaving cancer screening and prevention policies that help people that use tobacco products quit and deter kids from ever using tobacco products. We will be making the following fact-based policies a priority and ask for your support:

Ensuring Access to Quality Care

  • Medicaid Expansion: ACS CAN will monitor the continued implementation of Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma to ensure program integrity, advocating and communicating with the Oklahoma Legislature and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority when needed.
  • Affordable, Adequate Health Insurance: ACS CAN will advocate for policies that ensure access to quality, affordable and comprehensive health insurance and will support efforts to curb the availability of inadequate health plans. ACS CAN will support legislation that will eliminate patient cost-sharing for colonoscopies following a positive stool-based screening test for colorectal cancer in accordance with the current USPSTF guidelines.

Cancer Prevention and Early Detection

  • Breast and Cervical Cancer: ACS CAN will advocate to increase funding of $333,000 for Take Charge, the state breast and cervical cancer screening program for low-income uninsured and underinsured women administered by the Oklahoma Department of Health.

Reducing the Toll of Tobacco

  • Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Funding:  ACS CAN will work to protect funding for the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, which operates fact-based, statewide tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Protecting the Trust’s funding will allow them to continue successfully operating prevention and cessation programs such as the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline and Tobacco Stops With Me, a program that educates the public on the true cost of tobacco in Oklahoma
  • Access to Tobacco Cessation: ACS CAN will advocate for all insurance plans, including SoonerCare, the state Medicaid program, to provide a comprehensive cessation benefit that covers individual, group tobacco cessation counseling without cost-sharing or other barriers to accessing care.
  • Smoke-free Air:  ACS CAN will work to repeal a state law that prevents municipal governments from implementing smoke-free ordinances prohibiting smoking in public places.  

Local Control

  • Local governments are uniquely positioned to meet the needs of the people in their communities. ACS CAN supports their ability to pass laws that are proven to promote good health, well-being, and equality. Preserving local control is needed to pass innovative and proactive public health policies. ACS CAN works at the local, state, and federal levels; thus, it supports each level of government’s ability to implement policies for cleaner, safer, healthier communities. The right of local governments to pass public health policies must be preserved to continue future advocacy efforts to reduce suffering and death from cancer.

    For more information, contact: Matt Glanville, Oklahoma and Arkansas Government Relations Director ACS CAN, [email protected] Phone: 405.301.6311

 


ACS CAN is making cancer a top priority for public officials and candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. ACS CAN empowers advocates across the country to make their voices heard and influence evidence-based public policy change as well as legislative and regulatory solutions that will reduce the cancer burden. As the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN is critical to the fight for a world without cancer. For more information please visit www.fightcancer.org