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Pandemic and Threat to Patient Protections Magnify the "Costs of Cancer"
Anyone who has heard the words, “You have cancer,” – or supported a loved one, a family member or a colleague who did – can attest to how devastating and life-altering a cancer diagnosis is. As a leading cause of death and disease in our country, cancer already bears an enormous toll on the personal lives and health of patients and survivors as well as on ... staggering this financial burden can be. In 2018, cancer patients paid $5.6 billion out of pocket for cancer treatments. Overall, the disease cost our country $183 billion in direct cancer-related health care spending in 2015—an amount that is projected to increase to $246 billion by ...
House Subcommittee Considers Bills Addressing Patient Health Care Costs and Access Issues
Washington, D.C.—Today the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will mark-up a series of bills aimed at reducing patient out-of-pocket costs and preserving access to health care. Specifically, the committee will consider a measure that would exempt patients from having to ... Fund for four years at $4 billion annually. A statement from Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) follows: “We welcome today’s committee action focused on reducing patients’ out-of-pocket health care costs and preserving access to ...
Cancer Advocates Urge Arizona Lawmakers to Support Continuation of State Medicaid Program
PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Today, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) volunteers rallied at the Arizona Capitol to urge lawmakers to support the reauthorization of the Arizona Health Cancer Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid program. Currently, more than 2 million Arizonans benefit from the health care coverage and ...
Cancer Advocates Excited for Possibilities to Improve Breast Cancer Screening Access, Celebrate Senate’s Passing of HB 1283
... a “do not pass” in committee, House Bill 1283 passed the full Senate on Monday behind strong Senate voices who took a stand on behalf of North Dakotans who might need additional breast cancer screenings beyond mammograms. HB 1283, sponsored by Rep. Karen Karls of Bismarck, would ... abnormal finding on a screening mammogram or supplemental imaging because of certain risk factors. The steps needed for a clean bill of health can cost thousands out of pocket. These patients are often put in position of choosing between a full medical workup or paying for a month’s worth of ...
2020 Maine Session Summary
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 Mainers touched by cancer and their leadership is vital to defeating this disease. In 2020, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) worked with the Maine Legislature in support of the following priorities: Ensuring Access to Quality Care Surprise Medical Billing ... insurance on their own or through a small employer, spreading health care costs across a larger number of individuals and providing greater cost protections for high cost claims within the pooled market. The law also requires insurers to offer a set of health insurance plans that would ...
Make All Copays Count
Michigan cancer patients and others rely on prescription drug copay assistance to help them pay for the high cost of drugs and help them meet their maximum out of pocket limit. These copay assistance programs can give patients access to a lifesaving medication they may otherwise not be able to afford. 0 Make All Copays Count ...
Administration’s Budget Risks Reversing Progress Against Cancer
... research essential to preventing, detecting and treating cancer. The budget cuts funding for medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $3 billion, including a nearly $500 million cut for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and reduces cancer prevention programs ... Department of Health and Human Services. A statement from Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) follows: Access to Care “If implemented, the administration’s budget would leave millions more Americans unable to access ... relief for seniors by capping out-of-pocket prescription costs for those on Medicare Part D and allowing some low-income enrollees to be spared cost-sharing on generic drugs. These would be welcome changes and could help enrollees better afford their care. Research “The proposed cuts ...
Prior Authorization Reform Passes Both Chambers, Cancer Advocates Eagerly Await Governor’s Signature
... Senate Bill 2280 into law. For the more than 4,500 North Dakotans who will be diagnosed with cancer in 2025, medical prior authorization can delay treatment, increase stress and have a negative impact on their care. Prior authorization is a practice in which physicians must obtain approval from insurers before prescribing medication or moving forward with treatment for their patients. Physicians report the process can lead to significant delays in care, contributing to negative outcomes in patients, including abandoned treatment. The process was once used ... a system requiring providers get approval to prescribe even the most routine medications and procedures. According to a National Conference of State Legislatures database, 23 states enacted more than 43 bills related to prior authorization in the past few years, including 18 in 2024 ...
Legislative Inaction Leaves Kansans Without Access to Needed Care
... – The Kansas legislature left Topeka Wednesday without adequately addressing several critical issues affecting access to health care for tens of thousands of Kansans, particularly those in need of cancer screening and treatment. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) urges legislators to recognize that saving lives shouldn't be suspended. Whether it is freezing changes to Medicaid and with it access to ...
Making the Affordable Care Act Enhanced Tax Credits Permanent Will Protect Coverage for Cancer Patients and Save Lives
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (NH) and Tammy Baldwin (WI) plan to introduce a bill, the Health Care Affordability Act of 2024, that would make permanent the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced tax credits that help make health insurance coverage affordable for an ... this bill will save lives. The following is a statement from Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “ACS CAN is pleased to see the introduction in the U.S. Senate of the Health Care Affordability Act of 2024, which would make the ACA ... likely to get screened for cancer and thus more likely to have their cancer diagnosed at an advanced stage when survival is less likely and the cost of care more expensive. ACS CAN has long advocated for public policies, like making permanent the ACA’s enhanced tax credits, that make ...