ACA Update | May 5, 2017: AHCA Passes in House, Now Faces Major Obstacles in Senate
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA), including an amendment authored by Congressman Tom MacArthur (R-NJ) and brokered with members of the Freedom Caucus, which would allow states to opt out of providing essential health benefits and community rating. Essential health benefits (EHBs) are ten ...
What Caught Our Eye: House Passes ACA Repeal, Faces Senate Hurdles; Risky Prostate Cancer Treatment; Medical Debt; ‘Right to Try’; Rx Pricing
What Caught Our Eye is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. “House Republicans approved their plan to replace the Affordable Care Act on Thursday. Here’s a rundown of key provisions in the American Health Care Act and what ...
NCCS Joins Cancer Organizations to Express Opposition to the American Health Care Act
NCCS joined with patient advocacy organizations in the Cancer Leadership Council (CLC) in submitting a letter to Congressional leaders regarding the American Health Care Act (AHCA): CANCER LEADERSHIP COUNCIL A PATIENT-CENTERED FORUM OF NATIONAL ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS ADDRESSING PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES IN CANCER Cancer Organizations Express Opposition to American Health Care ...
Poor Amendments Cannot Fix A Bad Bill
By Ben Fishman, NCCS Board Member—Three years ago this week, a specially-trained neurosurgeon opened up my scalp, and for next 12 hours, he delicately resected as much of a golf-ball sized tumor as possible without permanently damaging the area of my brain that controls speech and fine motor skills. The ...
Pre-Existing Conditions and High Risk Pools: A Cancer Survivor’s Experience Purchasing Insurance Before the ACA
My story began ten years ago in April when I was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer. The treatments were successful in that the cancer cells were eliminated, but my liver was damaged by the toxic effects of the chemotherapy and the radiation. My company was very supportive and I ...
ACA Update | April 21, 2017: House GOP Readies a Revised Health Care Bill
“Healthcare is not dead, we’re still working on it.” – Paul Ryan | During recess this week and last, Members of Congress continued to hear from constituents at town hall events where a major focus has been on health care and backlash against efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act ...
ACA Update | April 10, 2017: New GOP Proposal Would Undermine Pre-Existing Condition Protections
As talks of repeal and replace quickly resurfaced after the downfall of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), Republican’s newest proposals are even more devastating for cancer patients than the AHCA would’ve been. The newest Republican health care proposals would eliminate even more patient protections, including the essential health benefits ...
NCCS Statement on the American Health Care Act
The AHCA seeks to repeal and replace significant portions of the current health care law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Even upon initial review, there is no question that the American Health Care Act (AHCA) is a significant step backward from the ACA’s affordability and patient protections, and will hurt ...
What Caught Our Eye: High-Risk Pools, “Trumpcare,” Childhood Cancer Survivors, Medicaid Spending, Trump’s FDA Deregulation
What Caught Our Eye (WCOE), March 3, 2017 What Caught Our Eye is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. Affordable Care Act "States Be Warned: High-Risk Pools Offer Little Help At A High Cost" Do high-risk pools offer ...
ACA Update | March 2, 2017: GOP Tax Credits, Medicaid Proposals, and a ‘Secret’ Replacement Bill
In his address to a joint session of Congress this week, President Trump shared his priorities for the replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). David Nather of Axios wrote, “It wasn’t detailed enough to be called a proposal, but Trump outlined enough principles to give a general idea of ...
