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Palliative Care Bill a Win for South Dakota, Amendment F Looms as Possible Major Setback for Cancer Community

... allowed the state’s health care providers to better serve individuals with serious illnesses. Palliative care aims to provide better quality of life for cancer patients, those with other serious illnesses and their families by focusing on relieving the pain, stress and other symptoms ... definition to statute, allowing for improved access to and reimbursement for palliative care services as well as providing for the distribution of education materials on palliative care.  The bill was supported by the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations, Avera Health, ... at diagnosis. SJR 501, passed with little in the way of discussion or specifics, will be placed on the November ballot as Amendment F. ACS CAN will be part of a broad coalition of health advocacy groups opposed as similar programs in other Medicaid Expansion states have accomplished ...

Public Health Leaders Sound Alarm on South Dakota Ballot Measure

PIERRE, SD – Ahead of Election Day next week, leaders from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the American Lung Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids express their concerns around South Dakota Initiated Measure 28, urging ... financial relief to families struggling with inflation. This support extends to public health groups, who are also concerned with the high cost of living and care. The imprecise language of the measure, however, has caused greater concern among patients, providers and public leaders ...

Leading Patient Advocacy Organizations Urge South Dakotans to Support Medicaid Expansion to Provide Health Care to More than 42,000 Residents

Sioux Falls, S.D. – Patient advocacy organizations including AARP South Dakota, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the American Heart Association, South Dakota State Medical Association and the South Dakota Nurses Association have united to launch South ... Decide Healthcare , an effort to let South Dakota voters determine if the state should expand Medicaid health care coverage to more than 42,000 of their fellow lower-income residents. The coalition—one of the broadest to ever launch a ballot measure in South Dakota—is collecting ... in its first two years. Over five years, Medicaid expansion would return more than $1.3 billion to South Dakota from Washington, D.C., at a cost of only $3.8 million in state funds. "These savings will matter to voters, and South Dakotans Decide Healthcare is the only initiative  that ...

Access to Medicaid Expansion Key to South Dakota’s Fight Against Cancer

PIERRE, S.D. –– To mark Medicaid Awareness Month, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is shining a bright light on what Medicaid expansion means for South Dakota families in the fight against cancer and how important it is to ... Medicaid expansion in 2022,” ACS CAN South Dakota Government Relations Director Ben Hanson said. “They did not vote to add massive amounts of government paperwork to the lives of their friends, family and  small business owners as a condition to see their doctors. We are confident ... expansion of Medicaid, via Amendment D, in 2022. Those without coverage face one of the biggest barriers to receiving their critical screenings: cost. Many individuals who fall within “the coverage gap” -- making too much to qualify for Medicaid and too little to afford private insurance ...

South Dakota Falls Short on Cancer-Fighting Public Policies

... falls short when it comes to implementing legislation to prevent and reduce suffering and death from cancer according to the latest edition of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality, released today.  “Our state doesn’t hold up very well in this report,” said David W. Benson, ACS CAN government relations director for South Dakota. “It clearly shows we need to work on our tobacco tax and our funding of breast and cervical ... serve as a reminder to state legislators that we can do better,” said Benson.  “We also need to raise our tobacco tax to make sure the cost of using tobacco encourages people to quit, or better yet, never start in the first place. I’ll be at the capitol with ACS CAN volunteers ...

Comprehensive Action Needed to Put Kids Over Tobacco Interests

Pierre, S.D. – Data from the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey show youth use of e-cigarettes in high schools has skyrocketed, with a 135% increase over the past two years. Survey results also show that 27.5% of high school students used e-cigarettes in the last 30 days. Nearly 64% used mint or menthol flavored e-cigarettes, only 2% less than fruit ... more than candy flavors. As lawmakers return for another legislative session, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) supports efforts to effectively address the e-cigarette epidemic that is affecting the state’s youth. In order to enhance recent federal ...

House Passes South Dakota Senate Bill 54, Holds the Door Open for Big Tobacco

PIERRE, S.D. –– The passage of Senate Bill 54 on Wednesday marked a disappointing step backward for public health and cancer prevention in South Dakota as it strips ... State teens are particularly at risk as they use highly addictive e-cigarettes at nearly double the national average. The following statement can be attributed in full or part to ACS CAN South Dakota Government Relations Director Ben Hanson: “This cut acts as a door wedge for Big Tobacco to enter our middle and high schools. ...

South Dakota Senate Bill 54 Holds the Door Open for Big Tobacco

PIERRE, S.D. –- The passage of Senate Bill 54 on Thursday marked a disappointing step backward for public health and cancer prevention in South Dakota. If enacted, it would ... State teens are particularly at risk as they use highly addictive e-cigarettes at nearly double the national average. The following statement can be attributed in full or part to ACS CAN South Dakota Government Relations Director Ben Hanson: “We are actively speaking with House members about the negative consequences this bill ...

SD Governor Signs Bill Giving Cancer Patients Equal Access to Oral Chemotherapy

... their insurance plans. The oral chemotherapy access bill, which passed the Legislature with unanimous support, will eliminate disparities in cost-sharing for treatments taken by pill and those delivered intravenously in an oncology clinic. “By signing this bill into law Governor Daugaard helps ensure South Dakota cancer patients get the care they need regardless of how their treatment is administered,” said David Benson, South Dakota government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “Increasingly the best and sometimes the only treatment available for patients comes in the form of a pill not through an IV drip. With ...

South Dakotans Want State to Cover Uninsured Through Medicaid

...   SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Jan. 13, 2014 – Public opinion polling released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) shows that registered voters in South Dakota want their state to accept federal funds that are available to broaden access to health coverage ... and public affairs research firm Public Opinion Strategies, was fielded in November 2013. South Dakota lawmakers currently face the decision of whether to make health coverage under Medicaid available to individuals and families up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, as urged by federal health care reform. The poll was answered by 400 registered voters in South Dakota and has a ...

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