Public Policy Resources

Our latest survey finds that cancer patients and survivors living in rural communities are significantly more likely than those in other areas to find it difficult to afford their health care and to accumulate medical debt related to their cancer care. As a result of these additional cost burdens, rural cancer patients and survivors are more likely to skip or delay recommended medical care, skip or delay taking a prescribed medication, fall behind on recommended cancer screenings, and to face food insecurity.

Current federal law has several provisions that help prevent individuals and families from experiencing gaps in their health insurance coverage.  Coverage gaps can delay necessary care, which is particularly detrimental to cancer patients and survivors.  Preventing gaps in coverage is a crucial patient protection that must be maintained in our health care and insurance system.

Breast cancer screening is a continuum. It begins with a screening mammogram, which is often free for most insured women.

ACS CAN submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau strongly supporting the proposal to prohibit medical debt from appearing on credit reports.

Our latest survey finds that about half of cancer patients and survivors (49%) have incurred medical debt to pay for their cancer care and another 13% expect to incur medical debt as they begin or continue their treatment. Nearly all of those (98%) had health care coverage at the time they accumulated medical debt. This survey also explores the broad health and financial implications of medical debt, how medical debt deepens inequites, and the alarming rate of cancer related medical debt among younger respondents with early diagnoses.

Our latest survey finds that protecting no-cost screenings and preventive care and reducing the burden of medical debt are the most impotant priorities for cancer patients and survivors. This survey also explores the impacts of cancer on food and nutrition insecurity, with impacts felt across income groups and coverage levels.

ACS CAN partnered with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and RIP Medical Debt to conduct a national survey on the impacts of medical debt and high health care costs. Read the full results.

ACS CAN teamed up with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and RIP Medical Debt to conduct a national survey on the impacts of medical debt and high health care costs. Read a summary of the results.

Short-term limited duration (STLD) insurance plans do not provide the kind of comprehensive insurance coverage cancer patients need.  These plans were designed only as temporary coverage and are not subject to the same Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements as other health insurance products on the market.  As a result, an enrollee who was attracted to the plan’s lower premiums may find – if they are diagnosed with a serious illness like cancer – that the plan does not cover all of their necessary cancer treatments.  In these cases, the consumer can be left with catastrophic costs.