WASHINGTON, D.C. April 11, 2014 Following is a statement from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) on the announcement by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius that she is resigning her post:
Secretary Sebelius led the massive effort to implement critical provisions of the Affordable Care Act that ensure people with pre-existing conditions such as a history of cancer are no longer denied health insurance outright or charged far more than others for quality coverage. Because of her leadership, millions more people now have comprehensive coverage that gives them access to cancer screening tests, treatments and follow-up care, and most people insured through their employer now benefit from added protections such as low-or no-cost preventive services and a ban on annual and lifetime limits on the dollar amount of care a plan will cover.
The law 's implementation, like the law itself and complicated laws before it, has been far from perfect. We are working with federal officials and state governments nationwide to ensure the law 's patient protections work effectively for people with cancer and their families, and we continue to urge elected officials from both political parties to work together to make needed improvements to the law. We are pleased that at this critical juncture, the administration is moving quickly to transition to new leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services. We hope House and Senate leaders all recognize the need to put a new secretary in place as soon as possible so the department 's lifesaving work can continue.
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 Crispino or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5772 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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