Washington, D.C.—This week the Senate HELP Committee is hearing from bipartisan health care experts in its ongoing effort to strengthen the individual insurance market and ensure that meaningful, affordable health care coverage is available for millions of Americans, including cancer patients, survivors and their families.
A statement from Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) follows:
“ACS CAN commends HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) for initiating this bipartisan examination of health care solutions and for restoring long-needed regular legislative order to the debate. With repeal of the health care law as its starting point, the Graham-Cassidy bill is distracting and, if enacted, would be disruptive to the health care markets—creating uncertainty for millions of Americans.
“Policy experts and lawmakers, including current and former governors like Charlie Baker (R-Mass.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Mike Leavitt (R-Utah) among others, have all said that the existing insurance marketplaces should be strengthened and the state-federal Medicaid partnership can be improved with federal standards and state solutions.
“On behalf of cancer patients, survivors and their families, we urge lawmakers to continue to focus on practical, bipartisan efforts to strengthen health care coverage and urge Senators Cassidy and Graham to work within, and not around, the HELP Committee process.”