Access to Health Insurance

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As Congress considers changes to the Affordable Care Act, it is critically important that lawmakers maintain the patient protections that are so important to cancer patients and survivors, and ensure insurance coverage is truly affordable.  

We can never go back to the day when cancer patients couldn’t get health insurance coverage because they exceeded a lifetime limit or are denied coverage just because they survived cancer.  And, we must ensure they don’t experience any gap in their health insurance coverage and that their policies are truly affordable.

A study conducted by the American Cancer Society showed that people who are uninsured or underinsured are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at its more advanced stages when treatment is more expensive and patients are more likely to die from the disease.

Latest Updates

May 11, 2023
National

A majority (58%) of cancer patients and survivors say they would be less likely to remain current with their recommended preventive care if it came with a cost, according to a new survey by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). Over half (53%) of those surveyed quantified the cost that would present such a barrier at less than $200, with more than a quarter (28%) marking their threshold at $100.

May 4, 2023
Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan . – Last week, the Kansas State Legislature completed another session and left the critical issue of Medicaid expansion unresolved, despite bipartisan support from state voters to do so. State legislators are going on an 8-month break at the same time the state is restarting eligibility redeterminations for

May 2, 2023
Virginia

Victory in the fight against cancer requires bold new public policies that promote cancer prevention, early detection of cancer, expanded access to quality, affordable health care. Lawmakers make many decisions that impact the lives of Virginians touched by cancer and their leadership is vital to defeating this disease. In 2023,

April 3, 2023
New Hampshire

Our progress in the fight against cancer rests heavily on ensuring all Granite Staters have access to affordable health coverage.

Access to Health Insurance Resources

Cancer patients and survivors must balance reducing their health care costs with ensuring they have comprehensive coverage of services, treatments, and care providers.

Short-term limited duration (STLD) insurance plans do not provide the kind of comprehensive insurance coverage cancer patients need.  These plans were designed only as temporary coverage and are not subject to the same Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements as other health insurance products on the market.  As a result, an enrollee who was attracted to the plan’s lower premiums may find – if they are diagnosed with a serious illness like cancer – that the plan does not cover all of their necessary cancer treatments.  In these cases, the consumer can be left with catastrophic costs.

Many patients with complex diseases like cancer find it difficult to afford their treatments – even when they have health insurance.  Current law establishes a limit on what most private insurance plans can require enrollees to pay in out-of-pocket costs.  These limits protect patients from extremely high costs and are essential to any health care system that works for cancer patients and survivors.