Press Room

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Earlier this week, 22 cancer patient and caregiver advocacy groups, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) offering recommendations on how the agency should consider pharmaceutical therapeutic alternatives to selected oncology drugs for 2026 Medicare plans as they head into the negotiation process laid out in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

Today, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) commenting on draft guidance related to the maximum monthly cap on patient co-payments under prescription drug plans, referred to as the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan, which will begin in plan year 2025.

As Congress works to determine 2024 priorities before the budget deadline at the end of the month, nearly 700 cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico, and nearly every congressional district, will be on Capitol Hill this week to make clear to members of Congress that cancer must be a national priority. 

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), ACS’ advocacy affiliate, continues to promote policies that expand sustainable access to patient navigation to better support cancer patients. As part of this effort, ACS CAN is urging CMS to finalize a proposed policy as part of a recent payment rule that would allow Medicare to implement a reimbursement strategy that will ensure payment for patient navigation services delivered by professionally trained and certified navigators. ACS CAN also joined with patient and provider groups  in a second letter to emphasize the critical importance of navigation reimbursement to facilitating this critical service.

Late Friday, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) issued a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service commenting on the short-term, limited duration (STLD) insurance rule proposed by the Tri-Agencies in July.  

Late Friday, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) issued a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) commenting on the proposed rule for the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) launched a new campaign, “Empower Vape-Free Youth,” which aims to empower educators to speak with youth about the risks associated with e-cigarettes and nicotine addiction and to encourage youth to avoid and/or quit e-cigarettes.

Today, the Biden Administration released the first list of 10 drugs for Medicare price negotiation, including Imbruvica, a cancer drug used to treat certain types of leukemia and lymphoma.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 4, 2023 – U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and U.S. Representative Kweisi Mfume (D-Md. 7th) recently announced the introduction of the Henrietta Lacks Congressional Gold Medal Act, legislation that would posthumously award Henrietta Lacks the Congressional Gold Medal for her substantial contributions to medicine.