Increasing and Protecting Access to Medicaid

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Research consistently shows people without health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at later stages, when the disease is harder to treat, more costly and patient outcomes are poorer. Yet Medicaid provides millions of people in America health coverage to get regular check-ups to stay healthy, see a doctor when they are sick, detect diseases like cancer early to give them the best chance of surviving, access medications and treatments they need, and go to the hospital in an emergency. 

We are working to protect and expand access to Medicaid for people impacted by cancer across the country. 

In July of 2025, Congress voted to make the largest cuts to Medicaid in history. As these cuts and related policy changes take effect, we are working at the federal and state levels to elevate the voices of cancer patients and survivors and to protect access to quality, affordable health care.

Additionally, we are working to expand Medicaid in the remaining 10 states that have not increased access to their Medicaid programs. 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. Ensuring that low-income working families have access to affordable health insurance – especially during tough times – is an important first step.  

  

Medicaid provides critical, affordable health coverage to millions of children, seniors, people with disabilities, and other low-income individuals and families in America, including countless cancer patients and survivors.

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Share your story of how Medicaid has impacted you

We’re working with lawmakers to protect Medicaid access for people who are eligible and enrolled to make sure they can access cancer prevention services, cancer screening, and cancer treatment if needed. Help put a face to this critical program and share your story.

Latest Updates

September 4, 2026
South Dakota

Healthcare is not a luxury, but a necessity. At a time when costs are rising in seemingly all sectors of life, it would be tragic for the access to care we all need to become something that can only be afforded by individuals with high incomes and those who are

July 30, 2026
National

According to a new American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) survey, 90% of cancer patients and survivors say their cancer or their care and treatment required them to miss hours of work, school or volunteering, with nearly one-third of respondents (32%) continuing to experience disruptions into survivorship.

June 1, 2026
National

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released today an interim final rule on work requirement implementation in Medicaid.

May 14, 2026
Montana

HELENA, Mont. – Montana will implement work requirements on its Medicaid expansion population on July 1, becoming just the second state to proceed ahead of the federal mandate of January 2027, per HR 1. The access to care that about 80,000 Montanans get through Montana Medicaid has led to better

Increasing and Protecting Access to Medicaid Resources

ACS CAN opposes policies that condition Medicaid enrollment on work or reporting of work. 

Our latest survey finds that about half of cancer patients and survivors (49%) have incurred medical debt to pay for their cancer care and another 13% expect to incur medical debt as they begin or continue their treatment. Nearly all of those (98%) had health care coverage at the time they accumulated medical debt. This survey also explores the broad health and financial implications of medical debt, how medical debt deepens inequites, and the alarming rate of cancer related medical debt among younger respondents with early diagnoses.