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House Passes Fix for Medicare Cost-Sharing Loophole for Colorectal Cancer Screenings
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act unanimously today. This bipartisan legislation would phase out surprise out-of-pocket expenses that can act as a barrier to lifesaving colorectal cancer screenings for Medicare beneficiaries. Colorectal cancer screenings are covered in full under ... health insurance plans as a result of the preventive care provisions of the Affordable Care Act. However, a loophole in Medicare allows for cost-sharing if a polyp is discovered and removed during a screening colonoscopy resulting in Medicare beneficiaries receiving a surprise bill ...
Advocates to Gov. Ferguson: Cancer Can’t Be Acceptable Outcome of State Budget-cutting Process
... Wash. -– American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network advocates call on Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson to refuse to allow the long-term health of Washington residents to become collateral damage to the state’s current budget crisis. The state’s cancer prevention programs are one of the ... constituents as possible have access to screening for three of the state’s most prevalent forms of cancer. The following statement can be attributed to Audrey Miller Garcia, Government Relations Director for ACS CAN Washington: “The potential for budget cuts to do serious ... and cessation or the Breast, Cervical, and Colon Screening Program will damage Washington families well beyond their bank accounts. The cost will be the health of our children and lives of our loved ones. This is not political posturing. It’s based in data and is not a possibility ...
Cancer Advocates Urge Governor to Sign Bill that Would Remove Cost Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screenings
Sacramento, Calif . – The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) urges Governor Gavin Newsom to sign into law a bill that would remove out-of-pocket cost-sharing for patients needing a colonoscopy following a positive non-invasive screening test. Assembly Bill 342 would also align the age to ...
New Report Shows Majority of States Missing Opportunities to Reduce Toll of Cancer
WASHINGTON, D.C. Aug. 6, 2015 A majority of states are not measuring up on legislative solutions that prevent and fight cancer, according to a report released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality rates states on the strength of proven policies that help to prevent a disease that kills more than 1,600 people a day nationwide and will cost the country an estimated $216 billion in health care costs this year alone. The report, which was released at the National Conference of State ...
600 Advocates Meet with Lawmakers at Annual ACS CAN Lobby Day
... 600 cancer patients, survivors, caretakers, volunteers and staff from across the country convened recently in Washington, DC for the annual ACS CAN Leadership Summit and Lobby Day. Constituents from all 50 states (plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam) and nearly every congressional district met with their lawmakers, urging Congress to support lifesaving policies ... asked their representatives to co-sponsor bipartisan legislation that would make palliative care more available to patients who need it. Remove cost barriers to colorectal cancer screenings . While the Affordable Care Act waives co-pays for screenings for colorectal cancer, Medicare ...
Guest Post: New Prevention Services Bring Peace-of-Mind
... friends, family, fellow advocates but last week's event in Washington, D.C. was an experience I will never forget. On Aug. 1, a set of requirements took effect that new private health plans cover specific women's preventive services at no cost to patients. The requirements were included in the Women's Preventive Health Care Amendment to the Affordable Care Act. This was incredible ... that you have cancer, but then you also have to worry about the insurance companies cutting you off. Without access to coverage, cancer patients can't get the care they need to fight for their lives. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, I now have some peace-of-mind. I no longer have ...
New Study: 28 Percent of Adults Haven't Received Colorectal Cancer Screening
I was surprised by a CDC study I saw this week that found that in 2012 nearly 28 percent of U.S. adults had not received recommended colorectal cancer screenings. This is a scary statistic considering colon cancer is an easily ... cancer screening tests without any out-of-pocket costs beginning at age 50. This is important because evidence shows that even nominal cost-sharing can present a barrier to accessing preventative screenings. The administration has already issued guidance to health care providers that if a polyp ...
Can we get to 80% screening for colon cancer?
... is when I see that colon cancer will kill an estimated 50,000 people in the U.S. this year. Here's another critical fact: Colon cancer is one of only two cancers that can be completely prevented by screening. Unfortunately, more than 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. aged 50 and older have not gone for a colorectal ... the Affordable Care Act, which improves access by requiring most insurance plans to cover colorectal screening and to provide it at low or no cost to patients. Still, too few people are getting screened, which is why the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (NCCRT), a national coalition ...
Steps Governor Hochul Can Take to Make New York a Leader in Health Equity
... years. New York has seen declines in both cancer incidence and mortality from breakthroughs in research and treatment, but there is still a lot of work to be done. If New York aims to remain a national leader in cancer care, as I believe the Empire State is meant to be, our elected ... and diagnostic services. In this, Governor Hochul has the opportunity to make New York a health equity champion. There are steps she can take now as well as in the coming year to ensure equitable and impactful policy becomes law. Let’s walk through them, starting with actions ... two bipartisan bills limiting New Yorkers’ out-of-pocket health expenses. The first, A2085-A / S906-B, or the Colorectal Cancer Screening Cost Sharing Removal Act, requires that every state-regulated health plan covers 100% of the cost of colorectal cancer screening beginning at age ...
Majority of States Not Measuring Up on Laws to Fight Cancer
We know what needs to be done to save more lives from cancer, and many of those solutions are policy solutions. By encouraging prevention, guaranteeing access to affordable health care, curbing tobacco use and focusing on patients' quality of life lawmakers can help fight cancer. These measures have been proven to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer, a disease that still kills 1,500 people in this ...