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 [...]
Health Care Roundup: ‘Misleading’ Pre-Existing Conditions Bill; Clinical Trials Lack Black Patients; ‘Cancer Coaching’ Ethics; Young Adult Cancer Advocates
NCCS and 30+ Patient Orgs Raise Concerns Over Senate Pre-Ex Bill — This week, NCCS and more than 30 other patient advocacy organizations submitted a letter to Senator Tillis (R-NC) detailing why his bill does not go far enough in protecting pre-existing conditions despite his intentions. The bill title, “Ensuring Coverage for Patients with Pre-Existing Conditions Act” (S.3388), is misleading and, if passed, would not provide adequate coverage [...]
NCCS Raises Concerns Over Impact on Patients of Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Revisions
NCCS submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the Medicare physician fee schedule revisions proposed for calendar year 2019 and proposed revisions in the Quality Payment Program. In our comments, NCCS addressed proposed changes to evaluation and management services, which are provided in the office or outpatient setting and are a critical element of cancer care. CMS proposed creating a [...]
Health Care Roundup: Maryland, Advocacy Groups File Suits to Protect ACA; Emergency Resources for Survivors; False Hope in Precision Medicine; More
This week, the US Census Bureau released health insurance coverage estimates for 2017. Between 2016 and 2017, the overall uninsured rate did not change significantly, but 14 states experienced an increase in the number of uninsured individuals, due to poverty status or whether the state expanded Medicaid. While coverage numbers dropped in many states, the Trump Administration continues to cut ACA navigator funding, which [...]
Health Care Roundup: Texas Court Hears ACA Lawsuit; House, Senate Advance Pharmacy “Gag Clause” Bans; Long-Distance Caregiving; and More
In order to bring you the latest cancer-related health care policy and news, we at NCCS combined our ACA Updates and What Caught…
NCCS Applauds Resolution to Block Short-Term Insurance Plans, Protect Those with Pre-Existing Conditions
Washington, DC – NCCS applauds the efforts of Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and 30 of her colleagues to advance a resolution blocking the final rule permitting expansion of short-term plans. The final rule extending the availability of short-term plans will put more Americans at risk of purchasing junk insurance plans and will also undermine the individual insurance markets on which many people with cancer rely. “NCCS considers these new short-term plans a serious threat,” [...]
Health Care Roundup: Kasich on Medicaid Expansion Success; New Cervical Cancer Screening Choices; a Nurse’s ‘Gut Feeling’; and More
Court Throws Out KY Governor’s Medicaid Countersuit — Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin (R) lost a lawsuit against Medicaid recipients who are challenging the Governor’s attempt to implement Medicaid work requirements. Earlier this year, Bevin was also unsuccessful in moving forward with his plans in changing components of Medicaid expansion in the state when a federal court sided with the same Medicaid recipients. [...]
Health Care Roundup: ‘Junk Insurance;’ High Costs and Forgone Care; Reinsurance; Patient Safety After Hospital Mergers
Trump Admin Continues Push to Make Short-Term Health Plans More Acceptable — On Wednesday, the Trump administration made it easier for short-term plans to reach more consumers in another move to try to halt further ACA progress. While short-term plans are inexpensive, they do not cover pre-existing conditions and the range for medical services is much more limited. [...]
Health Care Roundup: “Toxic Town” in WV Battles High Cancer Rates; CMS News: Risk Adjustment, 340b, Site-Neutral Payments; Hospital Costs; More
CMS Resumes ACA Risk Adjustment Payments — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will continue payments—amounting to $10.4 billion—to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) risk-adjustment program. The program was established to ensure that risk is spread across insurance companies. Recently, in one of the many efforts to dismantle the ACA, CMS announced that it would halt the payments, [...]
Health Care Roundup: Trump Drug Pricing Plan; HHS Cuts ACA Navigator Funding; CAR-T Therapy Coverage Issues; Biosimilar News; and More
Comment Period Closed for Trump Drug Pricing Plan — Comments for the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) drug pricing proposal were due this week. The plan, introduced by the Trump administration, outlined proposals seeking to increase competition, reduce out-of-pocket costs and incentivize better negotiations for lower drug prices. NCCS joined with other organizations of the Cancer Leadership Council (CLC) to provide comments [...]
NCCS Awarded American Institutes for Research Grant to Develop New Outcome Measure: “Return to Functional Status”
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2020: Read a summary of this research project at www.canceradvocacy.org/RFS.
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship…