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National Film Premiere Offers Look into Life Inside the Health Insurance Coverage Gap, Highlights Urgency Behind Expanding Medicaid

... Washington, D.C. The film and the panel of storytellers and policy experts that followed the screening highlighted the urgent need to close the health insurance coverage gap in the 10 states that have yet to expand Medicaid.   The film, directed by Chicago-based independent filmmaker Ashley O’Shay, offers a unique view into the health insurance coverage gap by following three Black Americans facing each day without access to the health care they need. Their voices, along with the voices of experts in the film, speak powerfully to the history of racial bias and discriminatory ...

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Passes Bill to Make All Veterans Health Administration Facilities Smoke-Free

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 17, 2017 – The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs advanced legislation today that would make all Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities smoke-free. The bill (H.R. 1662) would prohibit the use of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigars, pipes, ... forward. Its passage will ensure sick and disabled veterans are no longer subjected to the dangers of secondhand smoke when receiving medical care. “Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, and the U.S. Surgeon General has determined there ... many of which are linked to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.   “As a nation, we must do more to improve and protect the health of our veterans. Providing a smoke-free VHA system is an important step in the right direction.  “We call on the full House of ...

Cancer Patients and Survivors Celebrate the Successes of the Affordable Care Act in the Last 13 Years; Call on Lawmakers to Protect this Progress and Continue Improving Access to Care

Washington, D.C. – March 22, 2022 – This Thursday will mark 13 years since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law and cancer patients, survivors, and millions of others gained expanded access to comprehensive health coverage. The law, which put in place critical protections for people with pre-existing conditions and provided numerous benefits that have ... passage, pre-existing conditions, regardless of how minor or how serious, often meant being blocked from accessing comprehensive, high quality health insurance when people needed it most, including for those with a cancer diagnosis,” said Dr. Karen E. Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer ...

Patient advocates & public health leaders rally around proposed investment to alleviate medical debt in Pennsylvania

... impact of disease on patients and families, a new study from the American Cancer Society (ACS) shows that medical debt is associated with worse health status, more premature deaths and higher mortality rates. Researchers with the ACS have found that medical debt was associated with more days of poor physical and mental health, more years of life lost and higher mortality rates for all-cause and leading causes of death at the county level in the United States. The ... Shapiro’s Executive Budget to invest $4 million to wipe out as much as $400 million in Pennsylvanians’ medical debt. “The costs of cancer care are out of reach for many Pennsylvanians, which may lead to delayed treatment and impossible choices between accessing life-saving healthcare ...

District Court Ruling Upholding Short-Term Health Insurance Rule Could Make Comprehensive Coverage Unaffordable; Leave Many Uncovered

Washington, D.C., July 19, 2019 — Patient groups representing millions of Americans with serious health conditions are voicing concern about access to affordable, comprehensive health coverage after U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon today upheld an administration rule expanding access to short-term limited-duration ... the individual insurance market, which has provided millions of previously uninsured people with access to quality coverage since the health care law went into effect. People with serious illnesses need comprehensive coverage, but the availability of short-term plans could result in ...

North Carolina Lawmakers Further Delay Access to Care for 600,000 Constituents 

... meaning that 600,000 hard-working, would-be eligible North Carolinians are forced to wait even longer for a chance at affordable access to care. To date, 38 states and the District of Columbia have taken the lifesaving action of increasing access to their Medicaid programs. North ... issue thus far is profoundly disappointing for many patients with cancer and their families in North Carolina as they struggle with access to care. Moreover, if access is not expanded, the cancer disparities that disproportionally affect Black, Latino, and rural communities in the state ... who will be diagnosed with cancer, to work with North Carolina policymakers to expand Medicaid for those hard-working North Carolinians in the health care coverage gap and whose lives stand to markedly improve.” ###          0 North Carolina Lawmakers Further Delay Access to Care ...

North Carolina Lawmakers Further Delay Access to Care for 600,000 Constituents

... meaning that 600,000 hard-working, would-be eligible North Carolinians are forced to wait even longer for a chance at affordable access to care. To date, 38 states and the District of Columbia have taken the lifesaving action of increasing access to their Medicaid programs. North ... issue thus far is profoundly disappointing for many patients with cancer and their families in North Carolina as they struggle with access to care.     “Moreover, if access is not expanded, the cancer disparities that disproportionally affect Black, Latino, and rural communities in ... who will be diagnosed with cancer, to work with North Carolina policymakers to expand Medicaid for those hard-working North Carolinians in the health care coverage gap and whose lives stand to markedly improve.”  0 North Carolina Lawmakers Further Delay Access to Care for 600,000 ...

ACS CAN Letter Expresses Support for Legislation to Improve Health Coverage Affordability for Middle and Low Income Americans

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) sent a letter expressing support for the Health Insurance Rate Authority Act of 2010 -- legislation that works to improve the affordability of health coverage by requiring oversight and control of insurance industry rate-setting practices. The letter went to lead sponsors of the ... of S. 3078 and H.R. 4757, the Health Insurance Rate Authority Act of 2010. Over the past year and a half ACS CAN has participated in the health care reform debate from the perspective of a cancer patient. Providing all Americans with access to adequate and affordable health care will ...

New Report: Cancer Survivors Face High Costs of Care and Debt Years After Treatment

... recurrence or secondary cancers, ongoing side effects from their initial cancer treatment, late and long-term side effects, and mental health care needs. Research shows cancer survivors have higher annual out-of-pocket health care costs and carry more cancer-related medical debt than people who have not had cancer. “The end of cancer treatment, unfortunately, is ...

Report: Complex Medicare Appeals Process Leaves Patients at Risk for Delayed or Denied Care

Washington, D.C.— As millions of seniors and other enrollees select their 2021 Medicare health benefits during annual open enrollment, a new report details just how confusing the program’s appeals process can be should a patient need to appeal a claim denial for health care services or prescription drugs. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) report examines the myriad complex steps, ...

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