By Rishi Sachdev and Yousuf Zafar, MD — New cancer drugs have improved prognoses for patients, but that improvement in effectiveness has come at a steep cost. The price tag of new anticancer drugs has been increasing at a significant pace, with the latest—Kymriah by Novartis—priced at $475,000 per treatment ...

As patient advocates (as in most other things in life), it seems the more we learn, the more see what we don’t know. Whether we’re involved in promoting a patient-centered approach to research, direct care, survivorship, policy change or education, there’s a daily twist and update for us to wrap ...

On behalf of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Lewiston, Maine, in October for the annual Dempsey Challenge. Hundreds of cyclists rode between 10 and 100 miles to raise funds for the Dempsey Center. After attending the cancer survivors’ walk with hundreds ...

Today, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan withdrew the American Health Care Act (AHCA) when it became clear that he did not have the votes to pass it. In his press conference, he said that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the “law of the land for the foreseeable future.” ...

Throughout the repeal and replace debate, NCCS has been meeting with Congressional offices to share our concerns from the cancer patient perspective. During one of those visits, we simply asked, “At the end of the day, what do you hope [the AHCA] accomplishes since there will be millions left uninsured?” ...

Bethesda, MD – 87 organizations issued a letter today calling on Congress to take a hard look at the likely significant and life-threatening consequences of the American Health Care Act on millions of patients. The organizations represent Americans with complex health needs who rely on Medicaid for access to care, ...

NCCS applauds the nomination of Dr. Scott Gottlieb for commissioner of the FDA. Dr. Gottlieb’s experience as a physician, a policymaker, and a patient uniquely qualifies him to lead the FDA at this important time. The agency confronts a rich pipeline of new products for cancer and other illnesses, and ...

There remains no consensus among Republicans around a replacement plan for the ACA. In fact, more replacement proposals were presented, and after NCCS analyzed these proposals, we found that they do not come close to the level of protections the ACA provides currently and are therefore not adequate for cancer ...

President Donald Trump and the Republican leadership in Congress will soon be making good on their campaign promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). While replacement plans have been proposed, there is no consensus on an alternative ...

For six years now, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to successfully improve health care in America. It provided coverage to 20 million people, allowed young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until 26, emphasized preventative care, and sought to address inequalities in care, especially for women. For cancer ...