WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 17, 2010 – The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) last night filed comments with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the interim final rule regarding no-cost preventive services in the Affordable Care Act. The comments build on an already strong rule in an effort to define the frequency, method, treatment and setting for delivery of no-cost preventive services; encourage a requirement that plans disclose annually what services qualify under the no-cost provision; and advocate for special consideration for coverage of prevention in high-risk populations. Increasing access to proven prevention services like mammography, colonoscopy and tobacco cessation therapy is essential to the fight against cancer. Reducing the financial barriers to preventive care will help transform our old ‘sick care’ system into one that focuses on disease prevention and management, as well as improved wellness and quality of life.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alissa Havens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5772 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]