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Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Ensuring Everyone Has Access to Lifesaving Screenings

... Month, we reflect on our efforts to reduce the breast cancer burden nationwide and continue our commitment to fighting the second leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States. An estimated 266,120 women in the U.S. are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, ... as recommended, which in part contributes to only 62 percent of breast cancers being diagnosed at an early, local stage. Getting screened early can save lives from breast cancer, but lack of health insurance poses a major barrier to breast cancer screening. Millions of low-income, uninsured ... services. ACS CAN supports policies that require insurers to cover recommended breast cancer screenings beginning at age 40 without patient cost sharing. Disparities exist across the cancer continuum, and breast cancer is no exception. The ACS CAN report Cancer Disparities: A Chartbook ...

Protecting Funding for Cancer Prevention

ACS CAN was back walking the halls of Congress to protect an important health program. Along with representatives from 40 organizations, ACS CAN met with more than 70 U.S. Representatives and Senators to discuss the importance of prevention in the fight against cancer. We made sure that officials knew that through proven ways to prevent cancer and detect it early, we can ...

Guest Post: Closing the Colorectal Cancer Screening Loophole

... NASCAR driver Scott Lagasse Jr has agreed to share his personal cancer story on my blog. He is a very talented and inspirational individual, who can help make a difference in our battle against a lethal disease. In so doing, he can highlight the importance of cancer awareness. As a professional athlete, I’m used to being in peak physical shape. In 2014, I was probably in the best shape of my life ... preventive screening, especially for those 50 and older who are most at risk. That’s why I am working to support ACS CAN’s efforts to remove cost-sharing barriers that prevent older Americans on Medicare from accessing their doctor-recommended colonoscopy. Congress should take quick ...

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

HARRISBURG, PA – March 6, 2024 – As state lawmakers consider proposals that aim to reduce the financial 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 ... food on the table for their families,” said Donna Greco, Government Relations Director for American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) in Pennsylvania. “Medical debt is bad for patients’ health, and is the leading policy priority for cancer patients and survivors . The ...

Alaska Cancer Advocates Mark Great American Smokeout on November 19 by Calling for Action to Prevent Tobacco Addiction

... and safe—which means building strong public health infrastructure including comprehensive tobacco control measures. As the advocacy affiliate of ACS, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) supports evidence-based strategies proven to reduce tobacco use including comprehensive smoke-free laws, regular and significant tobacco tax ... has succeeded in hooking a new generation on tobacco products. E-cigarette use has reached epidemic levels among youth with approximately 26% of Alaska high schoolers using e-cigarettes, above the national average. Additionally, adults and teens in Alaska smoke cigarettes at above-average ...

House Proposal to Address the Budget Would Hurt Chronic Disease Patients

WASHINGTON May 9, 2012 The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, together with the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association, ... repealing the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which has already suffered a significant cut, would compromise our ability to make progress on cost containment, public health modernization, and wellness promotion. Programs supported by the Fund are already helping Americans adopt healthier ...

Update: Smoking Cessation and Medicaid

There's news on smoking cessation and the future of Medicaid. The American Cancer Society has recieved word that a proposal we submitted along with several other groups to expand access to smoking ... Sciandra, Sherry Tomasky and Michael Seserman for their assistance in preparing it. "We're pleased that the Redesign Team recognized the value of an aggressive smoking cessation program in Medicaid.  It's certainly preferable to cut costs by keeping people healthy rather than reducing services," added Russ Sciandra, New York State director of advocacy for the American Cancer Society. You can read the full proposal on tobacco cessation here >>> [PDF 165k] Update: Smoking Cessation and Medicaid ...

New Report: Raising Cigarette Taxes Across the South Offers Relief for Regional Budget and Health Problems

... per pack would help ease the economic crisis that weighs heavily on the region and its hard-working families, and would also improve the health of its residents, according to a report released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and Community Catalyst. The report, “Big Benefits from $1: Raising Cigarette Taxes in the South to Boost Health and the Economy,” is supplemented by a new Web-based interactive tool that details state-by-state benefits of a $1 tax increase. www.fightcancer.org/southernstates In the current economic crisis, the Southern states have been particularly hard hit by ...

House & Senate Committee Hearings to Highlight Critical Need for Affordable Access to Lifesaving Medication

... the Maryland Senate Finance Committee will consider Senate Bill 595, which seeks to create more predictability for patients facing high out-of-pocket expenses for lifesaving medication. The following day, February 29, the House Health and Government Operations Committee will hold a ... so that a patient using copay assistance to fill a prescription for a lifesaving medication may incur hefty unexpected medical bills—a result of insurers or pharmacy benefit managers not applying copay assistance payments to a patient’s deductible. Senate Bill 595/House Bill 879 will ... around medication expenses. Lance Kilpatrick, Maryland Government Relations Director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), will testify at the hearing to make the case to enact these patient protections for Marylanders, following the lead of nineteen other states. ...

Passage Urged for Budget Amendment for Public Health

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 11, 2004 – An American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) proposal to increase the budget for public health while substantially reducing the national debt by increasing the federal tobacco tax to one ... which may come as early as today. “This Amendment is good fiscal policy and good for public health,” said Gary J. Streit, a member of the ACS CAN Board of Directors. “Raising the federal tobacco tax will generate ample new revenue for public health, including cancer research ... is with us and we plan to let them know whether their Senators are with us too.” Tobacco related illnesses kill 440,000 people a year and cost the economy more than $155 billion in direct health care costs and lost productivity, yet the current federal tobacco tax is just 39 cents. ...

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