New Hampshire 2024 Legislative Priorities

Victory in the fight against cancer requires bold new public policies that promote cancer prevention, early detection of cancer, and expand access to quality, affordable health care. Lawmakers make many decisions that impact the lives of Granite Staters impacted by cancer and their leadership is vital to defeating this disease. In 2024 the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) will work with the NH Legislature on legislative and regulatory efforts that provide affordable, adequate access to health insurance including Medicaid, ensure adequate funding for lifesaving cancer screening and prevention programs, and enact prevention policies to protect kids from tobacco products and help support those who are trying to quit. We will be making the following fact-based policies a priority and ask for your support:

Ensuring Access to Quality Care 

• Affordable, Adequate Health Insurance: ACS CAN will advocate for policies that ensure access to quality, affordable and comprehensive health insurance including Medicaid and will support efforts to curb the availability of inadequate health plans.

• Access to Biomarker Testing: ACS CAN will advocate for improved coverage of comprehensive biomarker testing. Progress in improving cancer outcomes increasingly involves the use of precision medicine, which uses information about a person’s own genes or proteins to better diagnose and treat diseases like cancer. Biomarker testing is an important step to accessing precision medicine which includes targeted therapies that can lead to improved survivorship and better quality of life for cancer patients, but insurance coverage for biomarker testing is failing to keep pace with innovations and advancements in treatment.

• Prescription Drug Access: ACS CAN will advocate for legislation that ensures prior authorization and step therapy requirements for prescription drugs are clear, efficient and patient-friendly while also allowing for exceptions when appropriate.

• Prescription Drug Affordability: ACS CAN supports legislation that restricts the use of so-called copay accumulator adjustments in health insurance plans. We will advocate for policies that ensure third party prescription drug copay assistance is counted toward patients’ out-of-pocket cost obligations.

Cancer Prevention and Early Detection 

• Breast and Cervical Cancer: ACS CAN will advocate to maintain funding of $171,000 for NH Breast and Cervical Cancer screening program, the state breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment program for low-income uninsured and underinsured women administered by the NH Department of Health.

• HPV: ACS CAN supports legislation to increase uptake of the HPV vaccine including policies to strengthen school vaccination requirements, facilitate pharmacists’ ability to administer vaccines to children, and appropriate funding for HPV vaccine education and administration.

• Remove Co-Pays for Cancer Screenings: ACS CAN will advocate for legislation to eliminate cost sharing for follow-up cancer screening tests that are needed after an abnormal result and supplemental screening needed for some individuals who are above average risk.

Reducing the Toll of Tobacco  

• Tobacco Prevention and Cessation: ACS CAN will work to defeat legislation that will weaken existing statutes and will advocate for fact-based, statewide tobacco prevention and cessation policies that will protect Granite Staters and future generations from a lifetime of addiction and disease.

For more information, contact Mike Rollo, NH Government Relations Director ACS CAN
[email protected] | 603.661.8974