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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]