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Health Care Roundup: CMS Issues New Waiver Options to States to Undermine ACA; Open Enrollment Numbers Still Lag; Role of AI in Health Care; More

November 30, 2018/in Cancer News, Cancer Policy Blog Access to Care, Affordable Care Act, Health Care Coverage, Pre-Existing Conditions, Quality Cancer Care, Survivorship Care NCCS News /by actualize
In order to bring you the latest cancer-related health care policy and news, we at NCCS combined our ACA Updates and What Caught Our Eye (WCOE) content into a weekly email and blog post. We aim to make this a concise, one-stop summary of what you need to know as we continue working together to make cancer care better for everyone.

Your feedback is always welcome to make our content more useful to you. Please send comments to feedback@canceradvocacy.org.

Subscribe to our email list and receive these updates in your email box each week »


HEALTH CARE HIGHLIGHT

CMS Issues New Waiver Options to Undermine the Affordable Care Act

This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released four new waiver concepts that would allow states to pursue alternatives to the ACA. This announcement follows recent CMS guidance that outlined broad authority to the states to design their health care systems through a waiver of key ACA requirements and provides states with more specific options for avoiding ACA standards.

The four concepts would allow states to:

  1. Redirect ACA subsidies to personal accounts
  2. Design their own subsidy program that deviates from the current ACA standards
  3. Direct ACA subsidies to purchase non-ACA compliant plans such as junk plans, or catastrophic plans
  4. Use waiver money to support risk stabilization through reinsurance or high-risk pools

This waiver guidance could have serious implications for people with cancer as it would encourage states to design systems that would deprive cancer patients of adequate and affordable insurance options. If junk plans become eligible for ACA subsidies, then ACA-compliant plans that include critical patient protections such as pre-existing conditions protections and essential health benefits would become unaffordable for many. By directing federal assistance to junk and other skimpy insurance plans, CMS is encouraging states to provide insurance options that will largely be inadequate for anyone newly diagnosed with cancer who need comprehensive insurance coverage.

NCCS will express its strenuous objections to the waiver guidance during the open comment period, even though the Trump Administration has made clear that it is moving ahead with the waiver plan even before the comment period ends. NCCS will collaborate with other organizations representing the needs of patients in efforts to block this most recent effort to undermine the ACA and the people with pre-existing conditions who are served by the ACA.

Read more about the implications in this Health Affairs article »

Read the full statement from NCCS about the waiver concepts »


CHART OF THE WEEK

KFF Tracking Poll – November 2018: Priorities for New Congress and the Future of the ACA and Medicaid Expansion

by Kaiser Family Foundation

The November Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll contains a lot of interesting information. One example is the chart below, which shows that despite the fact that Congress repealed the penalty for not having health insurance last year, only 31% of respondents knew it.


IMPORTANT READS

ACA Sign-ups still trailing in fourth week of open enrollment

Modern Healthcare
(Free registration may be required to view article)

More than 2.4 million people signed up for coverage through HealthCare.gov in the first four weeks of the Affordable Care Act's sixth open enrollment, about 350,000 fewer than during the same period last year. While insurance exchange premiums for 2019 coverage are lower for many people across the nation, the absence of the individual mandate penalty next year and expanded availability of alternative coverage could be contributing to the slow-down in enrollment.

Read More »

Is Trump Pushing Health Insurance Innovation Or An ACA Rollback?

Kaiser Health News

In announcing additional flexibility for states, CMS Administrator Verma stated that the ACA’s requirements were impossible for states to meet and said, “I’m confident states will come up with ideas that will work better.” Administrator Verma says that pre-existing conditions protections remain, but health policy experts point to concerns about bifurcating the insurance marketplace, raising rates for people with health needs who need more comprehensive coverage.

Read More »

Medical devices for pain, other conditions have caused more than 80,000 deaths since 2008

STAT News

An investigation found significant patient harm, including more than 80,000 deaths, from medical devices. The report notes that with its medical device approval process, the Food and Drug Administration “puts people at risk by pushing devices through an abbreviated approval process, then responds slowly when it comes to forcing companies to correct sometimes life-threatening products.” The day after the investigation was published, the FDA announced plans to overhaul the medical device review and approval system.

Read More »

Combating Cancer: How AI Will Revolutionize Healthcare

Fortune

Simone Song, a senior partner at venture capital firm Ori Healthcare, tells Fortune’s Global Tech Forum that she invests primarily in biotech firms dedicated to tackling cancer, particularly enterprises with an AI-focus.

Read More »


Related Posts

https://canceradvocacy.org/nccs-news/nccs-strongly-objects-to-new-cms-waiver-options-that-seek-to-further-undermine-the-aca/
https://canceradvocacy.org/blog/health-care-roundup-nov-9-2018/

Tags: aca update, Advocacy, affordable care act, cancer care, Cancer Survivorship, CMS, FDA, HHS, patient first, pre-existing conditions, research, short-term health plans, What Caught Our Eye
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Latest News

NCCS Advocate Spotlight: Sharon Rivera Sanchez - Triple Negative Breast Cancer Survivor Finds Passion in Fitness and Advocacy

Sharon Rivera-Sanchez: Triple Negative Breast Cancer Survivor Finds Passion in Fitness and Advocacy

January 12, 2023
As a Triple Negative Breast Cancer survivor, Sharon turned her personal experience into a passion for advocacy and giving back to the community. When she received her diagnosis in May 2015, she remembers being in a state of shock and grief. She said, “You have to allow yourself time to breathe and grieve.”
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Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz introduces Comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Act at December 14, 2022 press conference.

NCCS Celebrates Launch of Comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Act

December 14, 2022
Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), a champion for cancer survivors and a survivor herself, held a press conference today…
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Alique Topalian, PhD, MPH Advocate Spotlight

Alique Topalian: Childhood Cancer and the Frightening Realities of the Survivorship Journey

December 7, 2022
Alique was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) at the age of four. Her mother, Michele, knew something was wrong because “the light in her eyes was gone”. After being told by doctors that there was nothing wrong, her family was relentless until new blood work uncovered blast cells.
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  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Our History
    • The 1986 Club
    • Our Team
      • Policy Advisors
    • Employment
    • Partnerships
    • Financial Information
  • Policy
    • Quality Cancer Care
    • Access to Care
    • Health Equity
    • Redefining Functional Status (RFS)
    • 2022 State of Cancer Survivorship Survey
    • 2021 State of Cancer Survivorship Survey
    • 2020 State of Cancer Survivorship Survey
    • Cancer Care Planning and Communications Act (CCPCA)
  • Get Involved
    • What is Advocacy?
    • Cancer Policy and Advocacy Team (CPAT)
    • Survivorship Champions
    • Subscribe to NCCS Updates
    • Elevating Survivorship
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    • Tools For Care Providers
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Harmar Brereton, MD

Founder
Northeast Regional Cancer Institute

 

“Perhaps one of the most impactful collaborations in Dr. Brereton’s extraordinary career remains his early work and long friendship with Ellen Stovall. Through him, and in turn through the thousands of lives he has touched, Ellen’s work continues, and her mission lives on.”

—Karen M. Saunders
President, Northeast Regional Cancer Institute