Reducing Health Disparities

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Cancer impacts everyone, but it doesn’t impact everyone equally. We are working to ensure everyone has a fair and just opportunity to prevent, find, treat, and survive cancer. No one should be disadvantaged in their fight against cancer because of how much money they make, the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, their gender identity, their disability status, or where they live.

From ensuring greater diversity among clinical trial participants to improving access to quality, affordable health care, we are asking lawmakers to reduce disparities in cancer care by advancing policies that break down existing barriers.

Black women are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women overall

Latest Updates

January 29, 2025
National

Bipartisan legislation that would remove financial barriers to prostate cancer screening was introduced today in the U.S. Senate. Sponsored by Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), the Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening for High-risk Insured Men (PSA Screening for HIM) Act would waive cost-sharing requirements such as deductibles, copayments and coinsurance, for prostate cancer screening tests for men with the highest risk of prostate cancer, including Black men and those with a family history of the disease.

January 24, 2025
National

Washington, D.C. – Today, patient groups representing millions of individuals with serious diseases and health conditions submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to uphold insurance coverage eligibility to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, as permitted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Final Rule issued in May 2024.

December 27, 2024
Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE – December 28, 2024 – Starting the first of the year, menthol flavored e-cigarette products will still be on store shelves across Rhode Island. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and its team of advocates, including cancer survivors and patients, are disappointed with

December 17, 2024
National

Public health groups are applauding the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for upholding the non-discrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the case of Neese v. Becerra. The court vacated a lower court ruling based on the plaintiffs’ lack of standing in the case, which challenged protections in the ACA for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) patients receiving health care services.

Reducing Health Disparities Resources

A critical factor for eliminating disparities and ensuring health equity is the guarantee that all people have access to quality, affordable health care.

The PSA Screening for HIM Act  (H.R. 1826/S. 2821) would remove out-of-pocket costs for prostate cancer screening for those at highest risk for the disease. 

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) believes everyone should have a fair and just opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. No one should be disadvantaged in their fight against cancer because of income, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, or where they live. From preventive screening and early detection, through diagnosis and treatment, and into survivorship, there are several factors that influence cancer disparities among different populations across the cancer continuum.