Access to Health Care

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Related Priorities

Every American deserves access to quality, affordable health care. From cancer screenings like mammograms and colonoscopies to the latest breakthroughs in treatment, everyone should have access to the care that could prevent cancer and save their life.  In addition, ensuring that low-income working families have access to affordable health insurance is proven to reduce overall health care costs. 

We are working in every state and in Congress to expand health care options and protect existing laws that help patients get true access to the care they need. 

People without health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at a late stage, when the disease is harder to treat, more costly and more difficult to survive.

Latest Updates

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Senate Committee Unanimously Passes Oral Chemotherapy Legislation

October 4, 2023
Michigan

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) was thrilled to see the Senate Health Policy Committee pass oral chemotherapy fairness legislation unanimously today.

CMS Should Prioritize Patients’ Experience as the Administration Negotiates Drug Prices for 2026 Plans

October 4, 2023
National

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).

National Health Groups Urge Supreme Court to Protect Executive Agencies’ Authority in Case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

September 22, 2023

ACS CAN and leading public health, consumer and provider groups filed an amicus curiae (or friend-of-the-court) brief in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo urging the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) not to overturn the “ Chervon deference." This would pose a significant threat to the country’s health care system by undermining the work of federal health agencies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Applauds Legislature for Investment in Medicaid Expansion, Opposes Some Provisions

September 22, 2023
North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina legislature passed the fiscal year 2023 biennium budget today that included $1 billion in additional funds for Medicaid expansion, allocated annually. The passage came after weeks of negotiations that have delayed implementation of Medicaid expansion. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)

Access to Health Care Resources

ACS CAN Supports the DIVERSE Trials Act (H.R. 5030/S. 2706)

September 2, 2021

The DIVERSE Trials Act (H.R. 5030/S. 2706) could increase racial, socioeconomic and geographic diversity in clinical trials and make it easier for all cancer patients to participate. 

Telehealth for People Living with and Beyond Cancer

November 9, 2020

Telehealth visits that enable providers to deliver clinical services from a distance using options like video conferencing and remote monitoring can provide cancer patients and survivors with a convenient means of accessing both cancer care and primary care.

Cancer Biomarker Testing

July 22, 2020

Advances in precision medicine have led to targeted cancer therapies that have improved patient outcomes and quality of life within populations of cancer patients with very specific biomarkers. Testing patients for cancer biomarkers is integral to identify those who may benefit from targeted therapy. Despite the importance of such testing, many cancer patients are not tested for biomarkers. This fact sheet highlights recent advancements in targeted cancer therapies and data from ACS CAN Survivor Views surveys of cancer patients and survivors assessing barriers to biomarker testing.