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New Survey Finds Affordability Leading Policy Priority for Cancer Patients and Survivors

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Protecting free preventive cancer screenings and reducing the burden of medical debt are the top issues of concern for cancer patients and survivors today, according to a new survey by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) that asked participants to select their leading policy priorities for the year.  Policies to address the high costs of cancer have grown in ... reflecting the urgency to address this issue in the U.S. In this most recent Survivor Views survey, 52% of respondents named protecting no-cost preventive care as one of their top three policy priorities, compared to 37% in 2020, while the importance of addressing medical debt ...

U.S. District Court Ruling Jeopardizes Access to Proven, Life-Saving Cancer Screenings

... District Court Judge Reed O’Connor issued a ruling that may lead Affordable Care Act-compliant health plans to deny coverage for or reinstate cost-sharing for certain preventive health services. The ruling declared the method of appointment of officers to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force unconstitutional, meaning its recommendations may no longer be guaranteed ... colorectal, cervical, and lung cancer. A statement from Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) follows: “This ruling threatens to erode more than a decade of progress reducing cancer deaths and suffering. Having guaranteed, no-cost ...

All Copays Count

... Many New Yorkers face hardship when faced with medical bills, including prescription drug costs. For example: A nationwide ACS CAN survey in February 2022 found that half of all cancer patients and survivors report incurring cancer-related medical debt, over 70% are worried about affording care, and women and Black ... already stopped this discriminatory practice by passing legislation that requires copay assistance to count toward patients’ out-of-pocket cost requirements — Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia, ...

Cancer Advocates Urge the President and Congress to Prioritize Affordable Health Care in Infrastructure Package

Washington, D.C.—April 28, 2020 —The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is urging President Biden and Congress to work together to prioritize access to affordable health care in any forthcoming infrastructure legislation. ACS CAN sent a letter  to the White House and Congressional leadership ahead of the president’s address to Congress detailing several policies that would help more Americans prevent, detect, and treat cancer successfully. The letter calls for making permanent the expanded eligibility and generosity of subsidies to cover the costs of marketplace health plans—policies that have contributed to more than a half million people gaining health care ...

Advocates Look to Governor Hochul to Address Affordability Concerns across Cancer Continuum in 2025-26 Executive Budget

The following is a statement from American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) New York Senior Government Relations Director Michael Davoli: “Coming off Governor Hochul’s State of the State address earlier this week, where access to and the costs of health care were sparingly mentioned, patient advocates are hopeful that the governor prioritizes health care affordability in her executive budget proposal for FY 2025-26.   “Concerns around the cost of living pervade everyday life for most New Yorkers. For those with cancer, the financial weight of everyday decisions can be crushing. New ...

Survey: Cancer Patients and Survivors Alter or Delay Care Due to Insurance Barriers

... D.C.—December 5, 2019—Some recent and current cancer patients are making changes to their cancer treatment due to the coverage and cost of prescription drugs and surprise medical bills, according to new survey results from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). The latest survey from Survivor Views , a national cohort of cancer patients and survivors who complete surveys on a range of public policy ...

Braidwood v. Kennedy

Identifying and treating cancer at an early stage – before it has an opportunity to grow and spread – can meaningfully improve clinical outcomes and reduce overall health care costs. Diagnosing and treating cancer early can also reduce overall health care expenditures. ACS CAN is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to evidence-based preventive services at no cost to them. Unfortunately, a lawsuit in Texas challenges the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that require most private insurers (and coverage for the Medicaid expansion population) to cover preventive ...

Patient and Medical Professional Organizations Applaud Administration’s Decision to Defend Access to Preventive Health Services in US Supreme Court Braidwood Case

Washington, D.C. -   Last night, the Solicitor General’s office filed its merits brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Braidwood Management v. Kennedy , outlining its intention to defend the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires most private insurers to cover preventive services recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) without cost sharing by patients. Organizations representing millions of patients with serious health conditions and thousands of health care professionals ... applaud the administration’s decision to continue to defend the vital provision of the ACA. Research has proven that any cost sharing can be a deterrent to accessing critical prevention and early detection and ultimately puts lives at risk. According to a recent American Cancer ...

National Patient Groups Oppose Allowing Employers to Charge Less Health Workers More For Health Care

WASHINGTON -- January 7, 2010 -- Three of the nation’s leading patient groups are calling on congressional leaders to ensure that final health care reform legislation promotes ... financial incentives for healthy behaviors that are not tied to insurance premiums. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association worked with House leaders to develop workplace wellness provisions in ... of dollars more for insurance by allowing rewards and penalties equivalent to 30 percent – and potentially 50 percent – of the total cost of an employee’s health coverage. The Senate language does not set evidence-based guidelines for workplace wellness programs. It also would ...

Proposed Medicare Rule Would Remove Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening

... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released proposed changes to the 2023 Medicare program that, if finalized, would eliminate cost sharing for colonoscopies after a positive non-invasive screening test, and lower the minimum age of colorectal cancer screening to 45. Lowering the minimum age of coverage from 50 to 45 and providing coverage of medically indicated follow-on ... barriers to cancer screening that will save lives,” said Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “Currently most Medicare beneficiaries are assessed 20% cost sharing for follow-on colonoscopies after a positive non-invasive test, an ...

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