Increased Access to Medicaid

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Photograph of a breast exam with a patient and doctor.

Access to Health Care

Where you live should not determine whether you live. But, for millions of low-income Americans, the state they live in could determine if they have access to health services, including cancer care.  To date, 38 states and the District of Columbia have increased access to their Medicaid programs, providing more than twelve million individuals and families access to health care coverage and to lifesaving tests like mammograms, colonoscopies and other cancer screenings. 

We are working in the remaining 12 states to reach the day when everyone has access to affordable health care.  Going to the doctor is much cheaper than going to the emergency room. And, for a family, preventing cancer is much less expensive than treating it. 

We know how to save lives from cancer.  And we know how to save money on health care costs.  Ensuring that low-income working families have access to affordable health insurance – especially during tough times – is an important first step.  

  

38 states have increased access to health care through Medicaid, helping provide twelve million Americans with access to lifesaving cancer care.

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Access to health care
National

U.S. House considering including ACS CAN provisions in wide-ranging bill

Ask Congress to pass our proposals that reduce the cost of health insurance and cap prescription drug out-of-pocket expenses for millions of cancer patients and survivors. 

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Latest Updates

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Legislative Action Needed to Reduce the Burden of Cancer in Missouri

January 5, 2022
Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – “As lawmakers dive into the 2022 legislative session, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) urges legislators to prioritize access to Missouri’s Medicaid program and funding Show Me Healthy Women, both of which ease the burden of cancer. “As lawmakers mull a variety

Legislative Action Needed to Reduce the Burden of Cancer

January 4, 2022
Mississippi

JACKSON, MS – As lawmakers dive into the 2022 legislative session, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) urges legislators to prioritize proven tobacco control measures and access to care, both of which will ease the burden of cancer on Mississippi residents. “Expanding Medicaid would ensure that

House to Vote on Legislation Expanding Access to Affordable Health Care to Millions

November 19, 2021

The U.S. House of Representatives will consider landmark legislation that would expand access to affordable health care coverage to millions of Americans through a combination of making low-cost marketplace health plans available to low-income people in states that have yet to expand Medicaid, permanently increasing federal funding for Medicaid in the U.S. Territories, and extending increased subsidies for individuals to buy marketplace coverage nationwide.

Ohio Department of Health Expands Eligibility for Breast and Cervical Cancer Project

November 1, 2021
Ohio

COLUMBUS, OHIO – Through the state’s biennial budget process, elected officials allocated an additional $100,000 per year to expand Medicaid eligibility for treatment of women who are diagnosed with cancer through the Ohio Department of Health’s (ODH) Breast and Cervical Cancer Project (BCCP). The BCCP is a critical safety net

Increased Access to Medicaid Resources

ACS CAN Comments re: ARHOME Section 1115 Demonstration Application

October 23, 2021

ACS CAN's comments re: Montana’s Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration

October 15, 2021

Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap for Cancer Patients and Survivors

October 13, 2021

An estimated 2.2 million low-income adults who would benefit from Medicaid if their state expanded coverage are now in the “coverage gap,” uninsured and unable to qualify for affordable health insurance. Congress must extend quality, affordable coverage to people who need it by closing the Medicaid coverage gap.