2025 ACS CAN Minnesota Legislative Priorities

Ensuring Access to Quality Care

• Fertility Preservation: Some cancer treatments can cause infertility, and as a result, individuals with cancer may choose to preserve their fertility prior to treatment. Failure to preserve fertility is a common regret that may affect survivors’ quality of life. ACS CAN supports legislation that would provide cancer patients with health insurance coverage for fertility preservation consistent with recommended medical guidelines.  
• Affordable, Adequate Health Insurance: ACS CAN will advocate for policies that ensure access to quality, affordable and comprehensive health insurance, including preserving and expanding Medical Assistance Medicaid, and will support efforts to curb the availability of inadequate health plans.

Improving the Lives of Patients, Survivors, and Caregivers

• Patient Navigation: ACS CAN will advocate for state legislation and policies to increase access to patient navigation, prioritizing policies that create sustainable funding to ensure patient access to navigation services across the cancer continuum.
• Reduce Patient Medical Debt: ACS CAN recognizes the impact of medical debt on people with cancer, caregivers, and their families. In addition to supporting policies that ensure affordable access to comprehensive healthcare coverage, ACS CAN will advocate for policies that prevent the occurrence of medical debt and reduce the impact of incurred medical debt on individuals and families. 

Cancer Prevention and Early Detection

• Breast and Cervical Cancer: ACS CAN will advocate to maintain funding for the Sage Screening Program, Minnesota’s breast and cervical cancer screening program for low-income uninsured and underinsured Minnesotans administered by the Minnesota Department of Health.

Reducing the Toll of Commercial Tobacco

• Commercial Tobacco Prevention and Cessation: ACS CAN will advocate to maintain current funding for the commercial tobacco prevention and cessation program.
• End the Sale of all Flavored Tobacco Products: ACS CAN supports legislation to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and all other flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, flavored cigars, hookah, and smokeless tobacco. The tobacco industry markets fruit and candy flavored products, including menthol cigarettes, to young people, African Americans, American Indians, the LGBTQIA2S+ community, rural Minnesotans, and other specific populations.
• Commercial Tobacco Product Regulation: ACS CAN advocates for all commercial tobacco products, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and other smokeless tobacco products to be regulated in the same manner and taxed at parallel rates.
• Cannabis: ACS CAN does not have a position on recreational cannabis and supports the need for more scientific research on the use of cannabinoids by cancer patients, and on better and more effective therapies that can overcome the often-debilitating side effects of cancer and its treatment. However, ACS CAN supports policies to maintain strong clean indoor air, preserve local control on important public health policies, and prohibit the sale of flavored cannabis that is burned, inhaled, or vaporized.