Public Policy Resources

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has helped individuals with pre-existing conditions like cancer access comprehensive health insurance and afford their care. But the law is at risk of being dismantled.

This Survivor Views survey examined access to and affordability of cancer care. Survivors report insurance-related barriers to obtaining prescriptions, and lower-income respondents in particular have difficulty affording them.  24% of respondents have received a surprise medical bill, 60% of which were more than $500.

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.

ACS CAN responded to the reopening of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) coverage decision for NGS testing panels.

ACS CAN comments to Steven Mnuchin and Seema Verma on Iowa's 1332 Waiver

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are an integral part of the health care safety-net, providing access to affordable primary care services for nearly 26 million uninsured or underinsured Americans – many of whom have cancer. The centers are non-profit, community-directed, and serve high need rural and urban communities that face obstacles to health care, including cost and lack of insurance, as well as geographic and language barriers. FQHCs provide access to quality preventive and primary care services that are critical for cancer patients, survivors, and those who will be diagnosed with cancer.

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.

ACS CAN filed extensive comments expressing deep concern with the proposed Medicare Part B Drug Payment Model and noting that in its proposed form the Part B Drug Model Model failed to protect cancer patients' access to life-saving medications.

This analysis examines two issues of particular interest to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and its members: the extent of coverage and cost-sharing for cancer drugs, and whether information on the coverage of cancer drugs can be readily obtained, compared, and understood by patients.