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Letter: Administration Action Should Not Undermine Access to Affordable, Comprehensive Health Coverage

WASHINGTON – Twenty organizations representing millions of patients and consumers across the country sent a letter to the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury urging the administration to address patient concerns before finalizing troubling rules that as currently drafted would undermine access to affordable, comprehensive health coverage. The groups note, “Your Departments have recently proposed a number of policy changes, the cumulative effect we believe will have ... 6.4 million Americans being uninsured in 2019. The groups also note that while reducing premiums is a shared goal, those with high-cost health care needs like cancer could actually end up paying more out of pocket to access recommended treatment and follow-up care. Furthermore, if bare ...

ACS CAN files legal brief in support of protections for people with serious health needs

... to file a legal brief or amicus curiae that describes the devastating impact patients would face if the district court rules the Affordable Care Act is not a valid law. Twenty states, led by the Attorney General of Texas, recently filed a lawsuit , Texas v United States of America. They ... Care Act must be struck down because it cannot stand now that Congress repealed the tax penalty that a person receives if they do not have health care coverage. ACS CAN and the other patient groups urged the court in their legal brief to uphold the Affordable Care Act and to “recognize Congress’s clear intent to improve access to lifesaving health care for millions of Americans.” The Department of Justice (DOJ) is typically responsible for defending the country’s laws, but, in this ...

Patients From Across the Country Visit Capitol Hill to Stop Senate Health Bill

Washington, D.C.— Sixty patients and consumers from across the country, each with their own personal health care story, gathered on Capitol Hill today to urge their senators to preserve quality health care access and coverage for millions of Americans. The event was organized by more than a dozen different patient and public interest ...

Food is Medicine Initiatives to Address Chronic Diseases and Reduce Health Disparities

“Food is Medicine” (FIM) (or food as medicine) is a category of tailored food-based nutritional interventions specifically linked to the health care system that are intended to prevent, treat, or manage chronic diseases and often address food and nutrition insecurity. The American Cancer ... or manage chronic diseases and often address food and nutrition insecurity. Food is Medicine Initiatives to Address Chronic Diseases and Reduce Health Disparities ...

House Subcommittee Hearing to Highlight Critical Need for Palliative Care

WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 8, 2016 – The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing today on H.R. 3119, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), is a major step forward in advancing quality of life for cancer patients, survivors and their ... legislation would increase federal research on palliative care and pain and symptom management; enhance training for nurses, doctors, and other health care professionals to practice palliative care effectively; and establish a national public education and awareness campaign to educate ...

Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act Reintroduced

Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) reintroduced the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), which charges the federal government with expanding both the availability and scope of ... care, including pain and symptom management, and establish palliative care education and training programs for doctors, nurses and other health professionals. It would also create a national public education and awareness campaign to educate patients and providers about the ... the persistent barriers to palliative care that cancer patients continue to face. “By building a workforce of doctors, nurses and other health providers trained in palliative care, increasing federal investments in relevant research, and drawing public awareness to their ability to ...

ACS CAN testifies before Congress about protecting affordable health insurance for cancer patients

“Enactment of the ACA [Affordable Care Act] has allowed Americans with cancer and other serious conditions access to the care they need,” said Keysha Brooks-Coley, the vice ... expected to be diagnosed with cancer, and over 15.5 million Americans are cancer survivors. For these Americans, access to affordable, quality health insurance can be a matter of life or death. Prior to the ACA, cancer patients and others living with serious illnesses or pre existing conditions could be denied health insurance coverage as cancer was considered a preexisting condition. However, since the ACA was passed, “Those with comprehensive ...

Rep. Moser files legislation aimed at improving health outcomes in Kentucky

... access to biomarker testing has not kept pace with the rate of innovation due to several barriers, including lack of coverage by private health insurance and Medicaid programs, which Rep. Moser’s legislation would fix. “Dubbed ‘the right treatment at the right time,’ ... can utilize this life-saving tool Biomarker testing is an essential step toward improving cancer outcomes,” said Rep. Kim Moser, House Health Resources Committee chairwoman, and sponsor of the biomarker testing bill.  “As an Oncologist and Hematologist, I strongly believe in the ... making biomarker testing more accessible so that all patients can benefit from the precision medicine approach and receive the best possible care.” “Biomarker testing is probably the single most important factor in my quality and longevity of life.  When I was diagnosed with lung ...

ACS CAN Calls Proposed Tobacco Tax Increases a Missed Opportunity for Public Health

... “The proposed tobacco tax increases included in the latest House Democratic budget plan will have little to no positive impact on public health. Small increases are much more likely to be offset by tobacco industry marketing dollars. Currently Big Tobacco spends $78 million annually ... as over $100 million per year from the Master Settlement Agreement with Big Tobacco—payments that were intended to help offset the massive health care costs as a result of tobacco use—the state hasn’t budgeted a penny towards non-Medicaid tobacco control programs since 2015. While some ...

ACS CAN Submits Comments to CMS on Proposed Marketplace Health Insurance Changes

... Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) submitted comments to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services regarding proposed changes to marketplace health insurance plans. The submitted comments detail several ways the proposed ACA Market Stabilization rule could make it harder for cancer patients and survivors to access quality, affordable health insurance that meets their needs. The comment letter states, “we are concerned that some of the policies that are proposed will actually ... don’t always happen during open enrollment. SEPs allow cancer patients in these situations to enroll in new coverage and maintain ongoing care. As proposed, increased restrictions on SEP enrollment, including pre-enrollment documentation requirements without concurrent marketplace ...

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