The Senate on Thursday evening delayed a final vote on the tax bill due to “deficit concerns.” However a vote is expected to occur today, as Senate leaders announced they believe they have the votes necessary. Things fell apart on Thursday when the parliamentarian ruled that a trigger (an increase in taxes if economic growth goals were not met) did not adhere to Senate rules. Senator Corker and others had conditioned their support on [...]

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 [...]

This week proved to be another busy week in health care. NCCS led a team with representatives from other cancer patient advocacy groups to attend meetings with Senators to encourage them to support the Alexander-Murray bipartisan stabilization bill. The Alexander-Murray bill would fund cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments through 2019 and restore $106 million of the funding for enrollment outreach over the same time period. In exchange for [...]