Coronavirus and Cancer Resources for Survivors
Cancer survivors have expressed concerns and questions about COVID-19, the coronavirus, and how they may be at higher risk due to their cancer history. Here are some resources about COVID-19 generally, and its impact for cancer survivors specifically. NCCS is seeking answers from public health experts on the coronavirus and its impact on cancer patients and survivors. Please leave a comment [...]
ACA Update | June 29, 2017: Senate Health Care Vote Delayed
As you likely heard on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced he would not proceed with a vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) this week, as was previously planned. The BCRA, the Senate’s bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, was released last week in draft form and on Monday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released their report on the bill. [...]
NCCS Statement on CBO Report of Senate’s “Better Care Reconciliation Act”
Washington, D.C – The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) issued the following statement in response to the Congressional…
NCCS CPAT Member Jen Campisano’s Powerful Op-Ed Highlights Senate’s Secretive Health Care Repeal Process
I have written before about being misdiagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, about the nearly five years I spent wondering whether I’d get to see my little boy grow up. Last year, my diagnosis was changed to early-stage breast cancer and an autoimmune disease that mimics cancer on scans. I appear to be in remission from both. I don’t know why I got a get-out-of-jail-free card. I’m not sure why I survived when so many of my friends will not. [...]
ACA Update | June 23, 2017: The Senate GOP Health Care Repeal Bill Is Worse Than We Thought
Yesterday, after weeks of working on their health care repeal bill in secret with no hearings, Senate Republicans released a “discussion draft” of their Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2016 (BCRA). After the House passed their bill (called the AHCA), Senators like Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said “The Senate will review the House bill but will write its own version over [...]
ACA Update | June 16, 2017: As Negative Analyses Pile Up, Senate GOP Continues Secret Health Care Negotiations
As we reported last week, moderate Republicans in the Senate seem to be caving on their earlier promises to reject any bill that slashes Medicaid funding. Senators Collins and Capito have reportedly stated they would consider a “phasing out” of the Medicaid expansion program. However, lengthening the timeframe for ending the program does nothing to help the millions of people who depend on Medicaid for health insurance, [...]
What Caught Our Eye: AHCA Would Cause 50% Rise of Uninsured Children, Crowdfunding Health Care Tragedies, Rare Cancers, and More
What Caught Our Eye is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. In the Spotlight: “New Analysis Finds Uninsured Rate for Kids Would Increase by 50% Under AHCA” – If the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA) becomes law, the uninsured rate for children would increase by a whopping 50% by 2026 according to a new analysis by the Center on Budget [...]
NCCS Joins 120 Patient, Provider, and Consumer Organizations to Oppose Medicaid Cuts and Funding Caps
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) joined with 120 leading patient, provider and consumer organizations to express grave concerns about potential Senate actions on Medicaid. Together, the groups implored Senate leadership to protect the Medicaid program and oppose efforts to roll back Medicaid expansion or change Medicaid’s funding in a way that would harm patients and consumers. In a letter to both [...]
ACA Update | June 9, 2017: Senate Finding Ways to Repeal ACA
There have been several key developments in the past week, starting with Republican leadership sharing a bill of the Senate’s version of the AHCA at a caucus luncheon on Tuesday. The public has yet to see the language being considered, as there have been no public hearings or input from experts in the health care or patient advocacy space. NCCS understands the bill will likely be quite similar to the House version. [...]
What Caught Our Eye: Poor Doctor-Patient Communication; Senate GOP & Medicaid Cuts; Using Cancer “Battle Words;” News from ASCO17
What Caught Our Eye (WCOE) is our week-in-review blog series. June 9, 2017 | In the Spotlight: Via USA Today — For patients near the end of life, talking about their goals and values can help people avoid unwanted medical interventions, said Dr. Rachelle Bernacki, associate director of the Serious Illness Care Program at Ariadne Labs, a health care research center led by Dr. Atul Gawande. [...]
My Takeaway from Hill Visits: Empathy is in Short Supply
With the health reform debate moving to the Senate following passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) in the House, I’ve spent the last few weeks meeting with numerous Senate offices on both sides of the aisle. During one such meeting with a Republican Senator’s health policy team, I outlined the many reasons the AHCA would be harmful to cancer patients, survivors, and their families. High on that long list of issues are the [...]