The tax bill has officially turned into a health care bill. Last week, we learned the House version of the tax bill would eliminate the medical expense deduction. This deduction is a lifeline for cancer patients who claim it, as cancer care and the enormous out-of-pocket costs associated with it often result in financial toxicity and financial distress. As the LA Times reports, “What’s cruelest about the effort to repeal the medical expense deduction [...]

On behalf of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Lewiston, Maine, in October for the annual Dempsey Challenge. Hundreds of cyclists rode between 10 and 100 miles to raise funds for the Dempsey Center. After attending the cancer survivors’ walk with hundreds of local survivors, patients and advocates, I had the chance to visit the Dempsey Center to see first-hand the incredible programs and services [...]

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. “When Silver Costs More Than Gold: How Trump’s Actions Have Scrambled Insurance Prices” Via New York Times — The rates for next year’s Obamacare plans are out, and they show how President Trump’s actions have scrambled the insurance marketplace. Usually, plans known as gold have higher monthly [...]