Letter: Bill supports biomarker testing
This letter originally ran in the Lincoln Journal Star.
News
Americans overwhelmingly oppose charging more for pre-existing conditions/older Americans and oppose Medicaid cuts, new poll finds
July 5, 2017
The Senate health care bill is deeply unpopular with a majority Americans if it includes cuts to Medicaid, says a new poll sponsored by ACS CAN.
The poll found that:
- 77% of Americans currently have a favorable opinion of Medicaid
- 81% would oppose the Senate bill if it cut the projected billions from Medicaid
- More than 80% oppose charging older people or those with pre-existing conditions more for health coverage
Medicaid provides a critical safety-net for the more than 2.3 million cancer patients and survivors enrolled in the program.
“Significant Medicaid cuts could leave millions of the country’s most vulnerable unable to access critical preventive and curative health care,” said Chris Hansen, president of ACS CAN.
Under the current Medicaid system, the federal government gives open-ended funding commitments to the states.
The Senate bill would instead convert Medicaid to a “per capita cap” system. This means that each state would have a set amount of money to spend per person.
Over time, states would receive significantly less money to run their Medicaid programs. This could force states to limit patients’ access to some cancer drugs or lifesaving cancer treatments.
On June 27, Senate leadership announced they were delaying a vote on the health bill until after the Fourth of July recess.
This is just a delay. We need to stay vigilant to ensure that cancer patients, Medicaid recipients and all Americans have access to quality, affordable healthcare.