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Federal Update   On December 16, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an advisory bulletin outlining policy direction for states on the essential benefits package. Although ... of health benefit exchanges. HHS plans to publish a formal regulatory proposal, but did not indicate when. Read the HHS press release , ACS CAN's statement , and coverage from the Associated Press and Wall Street Journal. (attach WSJ)   The bulletin says a state will be able to choose ... Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plan; or, The three largest state employee plans.   The choice is about the benefit package only .  Cost-sharing (i.e. deductibles and co-pays or coinsurance) associated with the plans are not important at this point.  Cost-sharing will ...

State Lead Ambassador Summit Last weekend ACS CAN hosted its sixth annual State Lead Ambassador Summit in St. Louis for 48 volunteer leaders and their staff partners. The Summit included a town ... for implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Later in the weekend, breakout sessions were held on the essential health benefits provision of the law and why it is so important to achieving adequate coverage for cancer patients and survivors. At the end of the discussion, participants had the chance to build their own essential health benefits package as part of a group exercise designed to ...

... The four principles will guide the Society and its sister advocacy organization, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action NetworkSM (ACS CAN), in efforts to improve access to quality care for those with cancer. The principles, which were released at a Capitol Hill briefing today, state that health insurance should be Adequate Access is timely and coverage offers the full range of evidence-based health care services, including prevention and early detection and supportive needs, including acute treatment with access to ... care. Affordable Total costs are not excessive and are based on the patient’s ability to pay. Available Coverage is available regardless of health status or claims history, and it is renewable and continuous. Administratively simple Benefits, financial liability, billing procedures ...

Welcome! Biomarker testing helps connect patients with the right treatment at the right time. ACS CAN and partners are working together to make sure more Pennsylvanians can benefit from this important testing.   What is Biomarker Testing? In cancer care, biomarkers are often used to help determine the best treatment for a patient . A “ biomarker ” is a sign of a normal biological process, disease or abnormal function that can be measured in blood, tissue or bodily fluid.  Biomarker testing is the analysis of a patient’s tissue, blood or other biospecimen for the presence of a biomarker. Hear from Lisa about how biomarker testing put her on the path ...