Empowering patient voices through voter registration
While roughly 83% of adults in the United States will visit a health care provider in the next year, an estimated
News
7-27-12 Affordable Care Act Update
July 27, 2012
Federal Update
ACS CAN released a first-of-its kind report yesterday that highlights some of the Prevention and Public Health Fund's many successes in communities across the country. The report, Staying Well: Real Stories from the Prevention and Public Health Fund, profiles lifesaving programs in 17 states and communities that have benefited from the Prevention Fund, created by Congress in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Since the enactment of the ACA, the fund has supported evidence-based programs that are increasing access to proven disease prevention measures in all 50 states and scores of communities across the country.
Read the press release or go to www.fightcancer.org/preventionreport to access the report.
State Update
As governors and state legislators debate the issue of Medicaid expansion, a study published in yesterday's New England Journal of Medicine makes the case that Medicaid expansion saves lives. For more on the study's findings, read Kaiser Health News' coverage. In addition, recent public opinion polls show that the public supports making insurance coverage accessible to more low-income people and families through Medicaid.
One in Four under Age 65 Have a Pre-Existing Condition
According to a study commissioned by Families USA, 64.8 million Americans -1 in 4 non-elderly Americans -- are living with a pre-existing condition. The organization reported that more than one-quarter of white Americans, nearly one-quarter of black Americans, and more than one in six Hispanic Americans are affected. Nearly half of adults aged 55 to 64 have pre-existing conditions that could result in a denial of coverage. Thanks to provisions in the ACA, these individuals will no longer be denied insurance coverage based on health history starting in 2014.
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.