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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 [...]
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NCCS Joins Coalition of Organizations Urging Congress to Extend the Medical Expense Deduction Permanently
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) joined with AARP and 47 other organizations in letters to the House and Senate asking Members to co-sponsor the Medical Expense Savings Act, which is bipartisan legislation that would make permanent the 7.5 percent threshold for the medical expense deduction. This deduction provides an important tax relief for many patients which helps offset the high costs of cancer care. [...]
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Remembering Fitzhugh Mullan, MD
It is with profound sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Fitzhugh Mullan, MD, the co-founder and first president of the National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship, on November 30, 2019. As a young physician in 1975, Fitz was diagnosed with cancer at a time a cancer diagnosis was commonly a death sentence, often kept secret from friends, family, and coworkers. Always an activist for the rights of the disadvantaged, ten years after his own cancer experience, [...]
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Health Care Roundup: ACA Open Enrollment and “Junk” Insurance; E-Cigarette Ban; Integrative Oncology; FDA Breast Implant Warning; More
Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Healthcare.gov marketplace is in full swing. After major technical glitches, in addition to cuts to enrollment marketing and assistance, the number of enrollees is down this year from past years. As the Washington Post reports, the administration is also redirecting some Healthcare.gov users to private insurance exchanges that sell “junk” health plans — short-term limited duration plans that do not include [...]
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NCCS Presents 4th Annual Ellen L. Stovall Award to Dr. Harmar Brereton and Dana Dornsife for Their Innovation and Dedication to Cancer Survivors
Washington, D.C. – The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) presented the 4th annual Ellen L. Stovall Award for Innovation in Patient-Centered Cancer Care to Dr. Harmar Brereton and Dana Dornsife on November 13. Named for former NCCS CEO Ellen Stovall, who died in 2016 due to complications from three cancer treatments, the award highlights those who continue Ellen’s work of transforming cancer care to further incorporate [...]
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Health Care Roundup: Drug Pricing Bill Advances; ACA Open Enrollment & Premium Data; Cancer Overdiagnosis; “Medicaid Haves and Have-Nots”; More
House Drug Pricing Bill Advances Out of Committee – The biggest health care news this week was the approval by the House Ways and Means Committee of H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act — Speaker Pelosi's drug pricing bill. The bill advanced along party lines, with opponents citing a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that said the plan would harm drug innovation and reduce the number of new drugs coming to the [...]
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NCCS Urges FDA to Finalize Graphic Health Warnings for Cigarette Packs and Advertisements
NCCS joined with public health and medical organizations in a comment letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the proposed rule to establish health warnings for cigarette packages and advertisements. The comment letter outlines the overwhelming evidence that shows color graphic health warnings on cigarette packages and ads substantially increases and promotes greater public understanding of the dangers of smoking, [...]
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Health Care Roundup: Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness; More on “Junk Insurance;” Reviewing Effects of California’s Surprise Billing Law; More
Ads Offering Bare-Bones Coverage are Everywhere – This Axios article highlights the growing trend of plans being advertised across the internet as “Trumpcare” plans. The problem? “Trumpcare doesn’t exist, and many of these advertised plans offer bare-bones coverage.” "It's impossible to expect consumers to discern between the good guys and the con artists," said Sabrina Corlette, a health insurance researcher at Georgetown University. "And [...]
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Health Care Roundup: Cokie Roberts; Survivorship in the News; Junk Insurance Doesn’t Cover the Bills; Seeking Help and Encouragement; More
Tennessee became the first state in the country to release a plan proposing to block grant its Medicaid program. Currently, the federal government pays each state “a certain percentage of the cost of care for anyone eligible for health coverage.” If changed to a block grant program, the federal government would “instead pay a state a lump sum each year while freeing it from many of Medicaid’s rules, including who must be allowed into [...]
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Remembering Cokie Roberts, a Tireless Advocate for Cancer Survivors
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship mourns the loss of Cokie Roberts, who died yesterday from complications of breast cancer. Mrs. Roberts was a generous supporter of NCCS both before and after her own seventeen-year cancer experience. In 1998, she co-hosted NCCS’s THE MARCH...Coming Together to Conquer Cancer, in honor of her ABC News colleague Sam Donaldson, a then three-year survivor of melanoma, and her sister, [...]
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NCCS Survivorship Survey: Cancer Survivors Share Their Top Concerns
As part of its Elevating Survivorship initiative, NCCS fielded an online survey to understand cancer survivorship experiences and needs across a range of cancer patients. NCCS and our partner patient advocacy organizations promoted the survey to our constituents, and 1,380 cancer survivors responded. Some of the key findings include [...]