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.
This Survivor Views survey examined cancer symptoms and side effects, including pain, and use of palliative/ supportive services. Cancer survivors report many physical and emotional side effects during and after treatment, but use of solutions to address those symptoms is lagging. Survivors prescribed opioids often encounter barriers to obtaining them.
This ACS CAN report focuses specifically on the costs of cancer borne by patients in active treatment as well as survivors. It examines the factors contributing to the cost of cancer care, the type of direct costs patients pay, and the indirect costs associated with cancer.
This factsheet explains what health care tax credits (also known as "enhanced tax credits") are and why Congress needs to extend them before they expire at the end of the year.
Drug therapies are the bedrock of cancer care. Making these therapies affordable, while continuing to encourage innovation of new treatments, is crucial to accomplishing the mission of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. ACS CAN has long fought for public policies that support both the affordability and availability of medically necessary prescription drugs.
Prescription drug costs are a significant burden on cancer patients and survivors, sometimes even leading patients to miss or delay taking prescribed medications. The latest Survivor Views survey explores the role copay assistance programs can play in reducing this burden, and also addresses patient navigation and digital therapeutics.
A majority of cancer patients and survivors struggle to afford cancer care and over 80% have had to make financial sacrifices to cover their health care expenses. This survey also reveals ways that affordability concerns can negatively impact care and treatment, and explores issues related to prescription drug coverage and pain management options.
This report explores the experiences of cancer patients with their health insurance and financial challenges through interviews with hospital-based financial navigators. The report finds that while the Affordable Care Act has brought crucial improvements to patient access to health insurance, cancer patients still face serious challenges affording their care and using their insurance benefits.
Current federal requirements prohibit health insurance plans from denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions like cancer. These are one of several important patient protections that must be part of any health care system that works for cancer patients.
Current federal law provides life-saving coverage of cancer prevention and early detection services and programs. These provisions are crucial to reducing the incidence and impact of cancer in the United States. They are also crucial in helping cancer survivors remain cancer-free and lead healthy lives.
The health care law has several provisions that help prevent individuals from experiencing gaps in health insurance coverage, including the requirement that private health insurance plans allow dependents to remain on their parents’ insurance until age 26. This provision is important for keeping survivors of childhood and young adult cancer insured, and helps to ensure young adults receive preventive services and screenings. This provision is a crucial patient protection that must be a part of a health care system that works for cancer patients and survivors.
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.
ACS CAN and Manatt Health estimated the amount of coverage loss and funding losses that would be caused if the House-passed budget reconciliation bill became law.
ACS CAN opposes Ohio’s proposal to implement work requirements in its Medicaid program, and we urge the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reject this waiver.
As Congress and the administration consider changes to federal spending that could severely cut Medicaid funding and impact state budgets, some facts are getting lost in the debate.
In 2023 10% of adults with a history of cancer in the U.S. relied on Medicaid for their health care. Access to affordable health insurance is crucial for individuals to receive necessary care, especially for those with chronic conditions like cancer. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network opposes cuts to the Medicaid program, as these cuts will make it harder for many people to receive preventive services and cancer screenings, cancer treatments and health care in survivorship.
