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Access to Health Care

ACS CAN advocates for policies that provide access to treatments and services people with cancer need for their care - including those who may be newly diagnosed, in active treatment and cancer survivors.

Access to Health Care Resources:

What does unwinding continuous coverage have to do with Medicaid expansion?

  • During the pandemic, Congress put in place continuous coverage protections to ensure that Medicaid enrollees were able to keep their health coverage without needing to re-enroll.

What does unwinding continuous coverage have to do with Medicaid expansion?

  • During the pandemic, Congress put in place continuous coverage protections to ensure that Medicaid enrollees were able to keep their health coverage without needing to re-enroll.

What does unwinding continuous coverage have to do with Medicaid expansion?

  • During the pandemic, Congress put in place continuous coverage protections to ensure that Medicaid enrollees were able to keep their health coverage without needing to re-enroll.

What does unwinding continuous coverage have to do with Medicaid expansion?

  • During the pandemic, Congress put in place continuous coverage protections to ensure that Medicaid enrollees were able to keep their health coverage without needing to re-enroll.

What does unwinding continuous coverage have to do with Medicaid expansion?

  • During the pandemic, Congress put in place continuous coverage protections to ensure that Medicaid enrollees were able to keep their health coverage without needing to re-enroll.

What does unwinding continuous coverage have to do with Medicaid expansion?

  • During the pandemic, Congress put in place continuous coverage protections to ensure that Medicaid enrollees were able to keep their health coverage without needing to re-enroll.

What does unwinding continuous coverage have to do with Medicaid expansion?

  • During the pandemic, Congress put in place continuous coverage protections to ensure that Medicaid enrollees were able to keep their health coverage without needing to re-enroll.

What does unwinding continuous coverage have to do with Medicaid expansion?

  • During the pandemic, Congress put in place continuous coverage protections to ensure that Medicaid enrollees were able to keep their health coverage without needing to re-enroll.

ACS CAN provided the following comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program: Initial Memorandum, Implementation of Sections 1191 – 1198 of the Social Security Act for Initial Price Applicability Year 2026.

Medicare Resources:

This ACS CAN chartbook provides cancer-specific data related to Medicare, including basic information about the program, a discussion of its components, characteristics of enrollees, coverage of services – specifically those related to prevention and screening – program expenditures and enrollees

ACS CAN is making cancer a top priority for public officials and candidates at the federal, state, and local levels.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) along with partners appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Patient Navigation provisions of CY2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

As Congress debated the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) we strongly advocated for both an annual cap on total Part D out-of-pocket costs and a mechanism that would allow an enrollee the option to pay the required cost-sharing in capped monthly installments.

Cancer patients and survivors must balance reducing their health care costs with ensuring they have comprehensive coverage of services, treatments, and care providers.

On Tuesday, September 6, 2022, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network filed comments on the calendar year (CY) 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule. 

ACS CAN's comments focused on the following:

The incidence of cancer increases with age and thus the Medicare program is vitally important to millions of Americans who are undergoing active cancer treatment, are cancer survivors or who have not yet developed cancer.

Costs and Barriers to Care Resources:

Consumers need access to health insurance policies that cover a full range of evidence-based health care services – including prevention and primary care – necessary to maintain health, avoid disease, overcome acute illness and live with chronic disease.  Any health care system that works for cancer patients must have standards ensuring that enrollees have access to comprehensive health insurance.

Current federal requirements prohibit most insurance plans from limiting both the lifetime and annual dollar value of benefits.  This ban is one of several important patient protections that must be part of any health care system that works for cancer patients.

 

 

ACS CAN comments on 2015 Edition EHR Standards and Certification Criteria Proposed Rule

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Medicaid Resources:

ACS CAN submitted comments opposing Tennessee's proposal to fund its Medicaid program through a block grant and implement a closed formulary.

ACS CAN comments supporting Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma, but opposing their proposal to rescind retroactive eligibility

An increasing number of states are seeking greater flexibility in administering their Medicaid programs. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) give states the opportunity to test innovative or alternative approaches to providing health care coverage to their Medicaid populations through Section 1115 Research and Demonstration Waivers (otherwise known as "1115 waivers"). States must demonstrate that their waivers promote the objectives of the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) and CMS must use general criteria to determine whether the objectives of the Medicaid/CHIP programs are met.

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