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While roughly 83% of adults in the United States will visit a health care provider in the next year, an estimated
News
3-7-14 Affordable Care Act Update
March 7, 2014
Federal Update
The mandatory federal budget cuts known as sequestration began in earnest last Friday night when the President issued a sequestration order as required under the Budget Control Act, resulting in a 5.1 percent cut to defense and non-defense discretionary spending, which includes funding for key cancer research, prevention, and early detection programs.
Highlights of cuts to priority programs:
- Health insurance exchange grants to the states are being cut by $44 million.
- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) budget is being cut. The IRS has numerous enforcement responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
- The Prevention and Public Health Fund is being cut by $51 million.
- The National Institutes of Health is being cut by $1.545 billion, including a $253 million cut to the National Cancer Institute.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are being cut by more than $300 million, including cuts to the Division on Cancer Prevention and Control.
The House of Representatives yesterday passed a hybrid spending bill -- part "minibus" and part continuing resolution (CR) - that would keep the government running after the current CR expires March 27. The bill would fund programs in the appropriations bill that funds the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at its 2012 fiscal year levels, less the sequestered funds. The Senate will next take up the bill with a modified set of spending changes.
State Update
The ACA establishes a new program of "navigators" in the health exchanges to assist people with enrollment and insurance questions. This program could be particularly important for populations who have complicated coverage needs or who are unfamiliar with insurance (e.g. long time uninsured people). The program can be run by the state. Although HHS has yet to issue specific requirements for navigators, some states are considering legislation that might be detrimental to develop an effective program to assist the public. This week, the State and Local Campaigns team provided the attached guidance to ACS CAN government relations staff in the states seeking to impose training and/or certification requirements for navigators and enrollment assisters that might inappropriately limit the scope of services provided by navigators. ACS CAN wants to ensure navigators and assisters can provide impartial information or advice about health plan options and facilitating plan selection. The field guidance lists the key issues advocates should monitor if state legislation affecting the navigator program is proposed.
Additional Guidance re Navigator Assister legislation.docx
As always, thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help cancer patients and their families.
Chris Hansen | President
ACS Cancer Action Network | American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc.