Press Room

ACS CAN urges state lawmakers and Gov. Beshear to invest $10 million annually in fact-based tobacco prevention and cessation programs

Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate Health Education Labor and Pension Committee (HELP) is expected to mark up the Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) for Cancer Act, S.1840. This bill would reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) through 2028.

As the Governor is drafting his budget proposal and lawmakers identify their appropriations priorities as part of the 2024 legislative session, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) calls for increased funding for the state tobacco control program and an increase in the state’s tobacco taxes, to ease the burden of tobacco and cancer in West Virginia.

LAS VEGAS, NEV.– December 8, 2023 – A two-time prostate cancer from Henderson is celebrating nearly five years of being cancer-free by urging U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen to support increased access to screenings for prostate cancer before Congress breaks for holiday recess. 

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.

As a long-time physician and public health advocate in Rock Hill, S.C., I am looking to our northern neighbors with envy. On Dec. 1, North Carolina closed the coverage gap and expanded Medicaid so that nearly 600,000 more people can now access affordable, quality healthcare.

Nearly two years after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its proposed rules to eliminate menthol in cigarettes and all flavors in cigars, the administration/White House announced today it will further delay release of final rules. Dr. Karen E. Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), released the following statement:

A year ago, South Dakota voters initiated and overwhelmingly approved Amendment D, expanding Medicaid coverage to more than 50,000 residents who did not previously qualify.

A year ago, South Dakota voters initiated and overwhelmingly approved Amendment D, expanding Medicaid coverage to more than 50,000 residents who did not previously qualify.
 
Those folks fell into the coverage gap, with incomes above the state’s Medicaid eligibility level but also just barely above the poverty line, meaning they could not afford marketplace plans. What Medicaid expansion meant for people in the gap, in a practical sense, is that they no longer were forced to forego basic medical care to cover rent, food, childcare, or other basic needs.

Today, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) sent a letter to key Congressional leaders urging them to advance legislation that comprehensively addresses the nation’s ongoing drug shortage crisis ahead of a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday. 

December 1 is a monumental day for North Carolina. The Tar Heel State should feel a sense of pride and relief for the nearly 600,000 North Carolinians who are now eligible for affordable health insurance through Medicaid.