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You are here: Home1 / Policy2 / Access to Care

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 17 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

Nicole C. Bullock advocate spotlight

Nicole C. Bullock: Faith, Family, and Friends Along the Path of Survivorship

September 6, 2022
As Nicole C. Bullock, a non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor, watched the news of hospital lockdowns during the early stages of the COVID-19…
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Advocate-Spotlight-Nicole-Bullock-Sept-2022-web.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2022-09-06 16:55:422022-09-07 10:07:05Nicole C. Bullock: Faith, Family, and Friends Along the Path of Survivorship
2022 Stovall Award Winners Patricia Ganz, MD and Alicia Staley

NCCS to Recognize Patricia Ganz, MD and Alicia Staley with 2022 Ellen L. Stovall Award

August 30, 2022
NCCS is pleased to announce the 2022 winners of the Ellen L. Stovall Award for Innovation in Patient-Centered Cancer Care are Patricia…
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Stovall-2022-Awardee-Image-wide.jpg 628 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2022-08-30 15:37:312022-08-30 15:42:16NCCS to Recognize Patricia Ganz, MD and Alicia Staley with 2022 Ellen L. Stovall Award
Kara Kenan Advocate Spotlight

Kara Kenan: Helping Others is the Greatest Reward of Advocacy

August 3, 2022
“Nobody wins afraid of losing” rings true for Kara Kenan, a breast cancer survivor. It’s her favorite line from Chris Stapleton’s…
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Advocate-Spotlight-Kara-Kenan.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2022-08-03 12:20:482022-08-03 12:20:48Kara Kenan: Helping Others is the Greatest Reward of Advocacy
Care and Career Support From Health Systems to Employers Webinar

Webinar – Care and Career Support: From Health Systems to Employers

August 3, 2022
NCCS hosted a webinar about the unique demands of caregiving in cancer and strategies that employers and health systems might engage…
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Care-and-Career-Support-webinar-post-1200px.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2022-08-03 10:24:462022-08-03 10:24:46Webinar – Care and Career Support: From Health Systems to Employers
Bethany Ross

Bethany Ross: Advocating for Quality Cancer Care Through Storytelling

July 7, 2022
Advocate Spotlight July 2022 - Bethany Ross Bethany Ross is a four-year neuroendocrine cancer survivor, or “cancer badass,”…
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Advocate-Spotlight-Bethany-Ross-web.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2022-07-07 16:53:522022-07-07 16:53:52Bethany Ross: Advocating for Quality Cancer Care Through Storytelling
Supreme Court of the United States

NCCS Reacts to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision and Potential Impact on Access to Quality Cancer Care

July 1, 2022
Last week, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, thus eliminating the constitutional right to abortion.…
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/stock-Supreme-Court-SCOTUS.jpg 628 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2022-07-01 14:56:322022-07-01 15:07:19NCCS Reacts to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision and Potential Impact on Access to Quality Cancer Care
Advocate Spotlight Wenora Johnson

Wenora Johnson: The Art of Caregiving: Connection and Kindness

June 1, 2022
Advocate Spotlight June 2022 - Wenora Johnson “One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as a caregiver is that the smallest…
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Advocate-Spotlight-Wenora-Johnson-wp-1200.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2022-06-01 13:00:282022-06-01 13:02:13Wenora Johnson: The Art of Caregiving: Connection and Kindness
Beyond the Checkbox: Cancer Survivorship Care Delivery in the Community - Dr. Crystal Labbato

Webinar – Beyond the Checkbox: Delivering Meaningful Cancer Survivorship Care in a Community Setting

May 20, 2022
Dr. Crystal Labbato joined NCCS to deliver a presentation about providing an effective model of cancer survivorship care in a community…
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Beyond-the-Checkbox-Crystal-Labbato.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2022-05-20 13:39:272022-08-02 04:51:49Webinar – Beyond the Checkbox: Delivering Meaningful Cancer Survivorship Care in a Community Setting
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Policy

  • Policy
    • Quality Cancer Care
    • Access to Care
    • Health Equity
    • Redefining Functional Status (RFS)
    • 2020 State of Cancer Survivorship Survey
    • Cancer Care Planning and Communications Act (CCPCA)

Latest News

NCCS Urges President Biden and Congress to Support and Protect Medicaid

March 24, 2023
This week, NCCS joined with more than 30 patient advocacy organizations as part of the Partnership to Protect Coverage to urge President…
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Medicaid-Protect-Letter-Congress-Blog.png 628 1200 Kara Kenan https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png Kara Kenan2023-03-24 15:51:462023-03-24 15:51:46NCCS Urges President Biden and Congress to Support and Protect Medicaid

NCCS Advocates for Access to DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction Surgery

March 10, 2023
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship recently joined the Community Breast Reconstruction Alliance (CBRA), a group of patient…
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Diane-Heditsian-PBS-Newshour-DIEP-Flap.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2023-03-10 13:24:422023-03-10 13:28:53NCCS Advocates for Access to DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction Surgery
NCCS Advocate Spotlight: Betsy Glosik, A Cancer Survivor's Journey Through Integrative Healing and Advocacy

Betsy Glosik: A Cancer Survivor’s Journey Towards Integrative Healing and Advocacy

March 8, 2023
For Betsy Glosik, the early 2000s brought one trauma after another. She lost her aunt to melanoma. Then, tragically she lost her 20-yr old daughter to a car accident. In 2003, after years of mentioning her concerns about a mole on her foot to her dermatologist, and repeatedly having her concerns dismissed, Betsy was diagnosed with melanoma...
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https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/Betsy-Glosik-Advocate-Spotlight-Blog-Banner.jpg 600 1200 NCCS Staff https://canceradvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NCCA-Logo.png NCCS Staff2023-03-08 12:55:132023-03-08 12:55:13Betsy Glosik: A Cancer Survivor’s Journey Towards Integrative Healing and Advocacy

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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
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    • Taking Charge of Your Care
    • Care Planning for Cancer Survivors
    • Tools For Care Providers
    • Order Our Resources
  • News
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      • Nominations
      • 2022 Winners
      • Awardees
      • Reception and Sponsorship
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      • Fall 2022 CPR
      • Spring 2022 CPR
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    • Cancer Policy and Advocacy Team (CPAT) Virtual Symposium 2022
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    • Webinars
  • Contact Us

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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