Access to Care

Access to quality, affordable cancer care is essential for anyone with a cancer diagnosis. Access includes adequate health insurance that covers needed treatments without leaving people with cancer to suffer “financial toxicity.” People with cancer also need the ability to participate in a clinical trial, if it represents a potential treatment option.

Prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), cancer survivors were at the mercy of the health care system, often forced to pay exorbitant premiums or simply denied coverage altogether. Today, America’s 18.1 million cancer survivors benefit from the ACA’s patient protections that provide them with quality, affordable, and accessible health care coverage. Through the ACA, cancer patients and survivors can now purchase insurance through Healthcare.gov and state insurance exchanges. The ACA has afforded protections related to out-of-pocket expenses, lifetime caps, and pre-existing conditions.

NCCS believes in the following principles for access to care:

Individuals with pre-existing conditions must not be denied coverage or charged higher premiums.
Plans must cover all essential health care needs.
Adequate financial assistance must be provided to ensure people with low and moderate incomes can purchase health insurance.
Insurers must not discriminate against older Americans, who are disproportionately impacted by cancer, or women.
Cost-sharing protections must be maintained, including caps on out-of-pocket costs and the elimination of annual and lifetime maximum benefits.
States should take advantage of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, which provides coverage to low income individuals living with cancer.
People with pre-existing conditions must not be segregated into high-risk pools, which are expensive and burdensome and do not meet the needs of cancer patients.
Cancer patients must have access to comprehensive and well-coordinated cancer care, including clinical trials.

“For a cancer survivor, dealing with the collateral damage of cancer treatment and the continued surveillance for recurrence or secondary cancers, going without insurance is simply not an option. I am very worried that the proposed replacement for the ACA will harm cancer survivors, particularly people with low incomes and people over the age of 50. We simply can’t go back to the days before the ACA when cancer survivors could be denied coverage, and we must ensure people have access to quality, affordable health insurance.”

Michael Kappel, NCCS board member and 13-year colon cancer survivor

Introducing PatientTrueTalk.com – A Way for Advocates to Directly Help the Newly Diagnosed

February 21, 2019

Patient True Talk is the only patient-to-patient registry where patients and/or their caregivers can create profiles with as much information as they feel comfortable sharing, and find matching profiles based on algorithms created by some of the country’s top clinical oncologists. Patients/caregivers can also search along their diagnosis/treatment parameters, refining their search based on the results provided. They can then send secure messages [...]

Health Care Roundup: New Health Care Bills; NCCS Co-Founder Susie Leigh on Life After Cancer; Oncology Care Model; Racial Disparities; More

February 15, 2019

Health Care Bills Discussed, ACA Lawsuit News – A group of Democratic lawmakers this week introduced legislation that would allow for a “Medicare Buy-In,” meaning Americans at age 50 could buy into the program for their health care coverage. Spearheaded by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI-D) and Rep. Brian Higgins (NY-26), the legislators say the main goal is to promote more affordable coverage. Hearings on the ACA and drug pricing continued this [...]

Health Care Roundup: Drug Pricing; Cancer Deaths Rise Globally; Health Care Champion John Dingell Remembered; Treatment at Home; “Survivor” Debate

February 8, 2019

Drug Pricing at SOTU; House Health Care Hearing — At the State of the Union address, President Trump stated that two of his administration’s health care priorities are to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions and lower drug prices. The address did not specify how to achieve those goals. NCCS commented on several drug pricing proposals released previously by the administration, with a specific focus on what the proposals would mean for patients. [...]

Health Care Roundup: More Drug Pricing News; Clinical Trial Challenges; Trump Promises Action on Surprise Billing; Fake Cancer Cures; More

February 1, 2019

This week, the House and Senate held several hearings related to health care, including a House Ways and Means Committee hearing titled “Protecting Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions.” The hearing illustrated the stark difference between the two parties’ health care goals. There were also dueling drug pricing hearings this week, one from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform titled, “Examining the Actions of Drug Companies [...]

NCCS and Cancer Leadership Council Highlight Potential Harm to Patients of Proposed Medicare Part D Changes

January 30, 2019

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released recently a proposed rule to change Medicare Part D’s protected classes drug coverage. In response, NCCS joined with other patient and provider groups of the Cancer Leadership Council (CLC) to comment on how these proposed changes could impact patients. The proposed rule would give Medicare plans the option to limit coverage of drugs in six categories, including cancer drugs. [...]

Health Care Roundup: Gov’t Shutdown Affects FDA; Health Care Hearings; Insomnia & Cancer; “When Cancer Meets the Internet;” More

January 25, 2019

Gov't Shutdown Affects FDA; Congressional Hearings on Health Care Scheduled – The government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history. This week, NCCS joined 46 groups in a letter to Congress and President Trump highlighting the impact the shutdown is having on the FDA’s work on behalf of patients. The groups stated that, “…we fear that this continued shutdown not only puts the current health and safety of Americans at risk, but [...]

NCCS Joins Letter Highlighting Impact of Gov’t Shutdown on FDA’s Work on Behalf of Patients

January 22, 2019

The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) joined with 46 other patient and provider organizations to call attention to the impact the government shutdown is having on the work of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “On behalf of patients across this country, we are greatly concerned that the agency is currently not fully funded, and thousands of vital FDA employees are not working or able to operate at full capacity. [...]

NCCS Health Care Roundup: Opposing Medicare Part D Changes; Medicare-for-All Comparisons; Cancer Patients Suicide Risk Study; More

January 18, 2019

Protecting Medicare Part D's Protected Classes and Congressional Updates — This week, NCCS joined the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in a campaign against proposed Medicare Part D changes. More than 50 groups joined the campaign in opposition to the administration’s proposal to change Medicare Part D's protected classes drug coverage, which would give Medicare plans the option to limit coverage of drugs in six categories, [...]

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Access to Care

Introducing PatientTrueTalk.com – A Way for Advocates to Directly Help the Newly Diagnosed

Health Care Roundup: New Health Care Bills; NCCS Co-Founder Susie Leigh on Life After Cancer; Oncology Care Model; Racial Disparities; More

Health Care Roundup: Drug Pricing; Cancer Deaths Rise Globally; Health Care Champion John Dingell Remembered; Treatment at Home; “Survivor” Debate

Health Care Roundup: More Drug Pricing News; Clinical Trial Challenges; Trump Promises Action on Surprise Billing; Fake Cancer Cures; More

NCCS and Cancer Leadership Council Highlight Potential Harm to Patients of Proposed Medicare Part D Changes

Health Care Roundup: Gov’t Shutdown Affects FDA; Health Care Hearings; Insomnia & Cancer; “When Cancer Meets the Internet;” More

NCCS Joins Letter Highlighting Impact of Gov’t Shutdown on FDA’s Work on Behalf of Patients

NCCS Health Care Roundup: Opposing Medicare Part D Changes; Medicare-for-All Comparisons; Cancer Patients Suicide Risk Study; More

NCCS Warns HHS Reorganization Could Harm Cancer Patients and Slow Research

NCCS Endorses Bipartisan ROCR Act to Reform Medicare Payments for Radiation Therapy

NCCS Welcomes Lisa Montez and Stephen Whisnant to Board of Directors

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