Access to Care

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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.

Cancer Nation 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, Cancer Nation board member and 13-year colon cancer survivor

Health Care Roundup: Kaiser Health Insurance Survey; House Holds Medicare-for-All Hearing; CBO Analysis of Health Subsidies; More

May 3, 2019

Kaiser/LA Times Health Insurance Survey – Kaiser Family Foundation and the Los Angeles Times released results of a poll of people with employer-based health insurance and found that overall, most people with employer coverage feel generally satisfied with their insurance, but those with high deductibles or chronic conditions report facing affordability challenges. Those individuals with higher deductibles were more likely to skip or postpone [...]

Diagnosed with Cancer? Consider Living Life Like a Professional Cyclist

May 3, 2019

Guest Post by Mark Corroto — I recommend those diagnosed with cancer consider living life as if they are a professional cyclist. Ok, not racing 100 miles and climbing 10,000 feet of elevation, but attending to their minds and bodies as if preparing for the Amgen Tour of California. Cyclists look for every edge they can proffer to defeat opponents. For example, World Champion Peter Sagan is said to get 9 hours of sleep a night, and many [...]

Health Care Roundup: Health Care Proposals Compared; ‘Surprise Billing’ Under Scrutiny; How Cancer Disrupts Young Adults’ Lives; Medicare Part D; More

April 19, 2019

Comparing Health Care Proposals – As Medicare-for-all and other public health care proposals continue to be released by Members of Congress, Kaiser Family Foundation created a great interactive summary which they update regularly to compare these plans. Most recently, Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders introduced his Medicare-for-all bill in the Senate. | Surprise Billing – Surprise medical billing has been getting a lot of attention [...]

Health Care Roundup: NCCS Joins Court Brief in ACA Suit; Challenges of Care Coordination; A Stage 4 Survivor on Living in the Present; More

April 5, 2019

NCCS Joins Amicus Brief in ACA Lawsuit — On April 1, seventeen patient groups, including NCCS, filed an amicus curiae (“friend-of-the-court”) brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case Texas v. United States. The brief cited the devastating impact patients would face should the court uphold the district court ruling to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The patient groups argue the law was intended to help protect patients with pre-existing [...]

17 Patient Groups Urge Appeals Court to Uphold Health Care Law

April 1, 2019

Loss of Patient Protections Would Raise Barriers to Health Insurance — Seventeen patient groups representing millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions filed an amicus curiae (“friend-of-the-court”) brief today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case Texas v. United States, citing the devastating impact patients would face should the court uphold the District Court ruling to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA). [...]

Health Care Roundup: Justice Dept Changes ACA Position; Medicaid Work Requirements Struck Down; Caregivers’ Costs; End-of-Life Conversations; More

March 29, 2019

There was a steady stream of health care news this past week, including court rulings regarding Medicaid work requirements and association health plans, as well as a major shift in the administration’s position on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) lawsuit. Democrats introduced new legislation to strengthen the ACA on its 9-year anniversary. Here’s what you need to know about these developments: The Justice Department announced that the Trump [...]

Health Care Roundup: Kansas Moves Medicaid Expansion; CDC Study: How Patients Reduce Their Drug Costs; Where EHRs Went Wrong; More

March 22, 2019

Kansas House Sends Medicaid Expansion to Senate – This week, Kansas is one step closer to expanding Medicaid in the state, after lawmakers passed a bill in the House that would add coverage for an estimated 150,000 Kansans. The expansion bill will head to the Senate where the outcome is unknown. From the Wichita Eagle: “The plan expands eligibility for medical assistance to all adults who are under 65 and make less than 133 percent [...]

Health Care Roundup: White House Proposes Health Care Cuts; NCI’s Sharpless to Head FDA; Care Planning; Patient Safety; More

March 15, 2019

White House Releases FY 2020 Budget – Earlier this week, the White House released the President’s Budget. This year's budget proposes to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and cap Medicaid, and cuts federal health spending by $659 billion over 10 years. The budget also proposes shaving $818 billion from projected spending on Medicare over 10 years and cutting nearly $1.5 trillion from projected spending on Medicaid. [...]

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Access to Care

Health Care Roundup: Kaiser Health Insurance Survey; House Holds Medicare-for-All Hearing; CBO Analysis of Health Subsidies; More

Diagnosed with Cancer? Consider Living Life Like a Professional Cyclist

Health Care Roundup: Health Care Proposals Compared; ‘Surprise Billing’ Under Scrutiny; How Cancer Disrupts Young Adults’ Lives; Medicare Part D; More

Health Care Roundup: NCCS Joins Court Brief in ACA Suit; Challenges of Care Coordination; A Stage 4 Survivor on Living in the Present; More

17 Patient Groups Urge Appeals Court to Uphold Health Care Law

Health Care Roundup: Justice Dept Changes ACA Position; Medicaid Work Requirements Struck Down; Caregivers’ Costs; End-of-Life Conversations; More

Health Care Roundup: Kansas Moves Medicaid Expansion; CDC Study: How Patients Reduce Their Drug Costs; Where EHRs Went Wrong; More

Health Care Roundup: White House Proposes Health Care Cuts; NCI’s Sharpless to Head FDA; Care Planning; Patient Safety; More

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