Letter: Bill supports biomarker testing
This letter originally ran in the Lincoln Journal Star.
News
7-31-09 This Week in Health Care Reform
August 5, 2009
ON CAPITOL HILL
There was significant progress on health care reform on Capitol Hill this week. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman announced an agreement Wednesday with a group of conservative Democrats known as the Blue Dogs that enabled the Committee to resume its review of the House “Tri-Committee” bill yesterday. The committee is expected to approve the bill as soon as today, and House leadership is saying a vote by the full House will be scheduled to take place after the August recess.
In the Senate, negotiations among top Democrats and Republicans on the Finance Committee are continuing, but yesterday Chairman Baucus announced that a final committee agreement would not come before the Senate recess begins on August 7th. Committee members will continue to talk during the recess but official action will be postponed until after their return in September.
NEXT STEPS AND AUGUST RECESS
During the August recess, ACS CAN will continue to work with our coalition partners and our congressional allies to further refine our strategy as we head into the critical September-October time period. We will be working to make sure that Congress considers health reform bills that are good for cancer patients, survivors and their families. Ultimately, health reform must improve upon the current health care system under which cancer patients and survivors are often denied coverage or face costs well beyond their means.
At this point, the draft bills now being discussed in both houses of Congress would substantially improve the system for cancer patients by making sure that:
• There is no denying coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions;
• You are guaranteed access and renewal to health insurance no matter what your health status;
• Essential prevention services are provided at little or no cost; and
• There is no annual or lifetime cap on your benefits.
ACS CAN remains concerned about whether coverage provided in the House and Senate bills will be sufficiently adequate and affordable for people with cancer and other life-threatening chronic diseases. ACS CAN is working aggressively with House and Senate leaders to make sure that:
• Premiums are affordable;
• There is an absolute limit on out of pocket costs, and that total costs are affordable; and
• Benefits are adequate to take care of a life-threatening chronic disease such as cancer.
Because this ongoing work is so important, ACS CAN will be activating grassroots advocacy volunteers across the country to urge lawmakers to move forward and support the enactment of meaningful health care reform for cancer patients.
We need Congress to put aside the politics and act NOW, not later, on behalf of all of their constituents who have cancer, or who could get cancer – in other words: all of us.
MAKING HEALTH CARE AVAILABLE
Last week I began a regular feature of providing specific details on the progress being made on ACS CAN’s priorities for health care reform with a look at efforts to enhance prevention. This week I address availability, one of the Society’s “4 A’s” for meaningful health coverage.
Too many cancer patients and survivors are being denied coverage because their plan has a pre-existing condition exclusion, or they are offered insurance coverage at a cost well beyond their ability to pay.
The Senate HELP Committee bill and the House bill represent a huge improvement in the availability of coverage for people who have or have had cancer. The bills would:
• Guarantee the ability to buy and renew health insurance coverage to all Americans regardless of health status. No more being told “you are uninsurable”.
• Eliminate pre-existing condition restrictions for ALL health policies.
• Eliminate the use of health status in determining health insurance premium rates.
• Establish insurance “exchanges” in every state that would empower consumers to compare benefits and give them choices is choosing the plan that is best for them.
• Make the details of health plans more transparent for consumers so they can understand and compare plans.
ACS CAN applauds House and Senate leaders for including these important provisions in each of the major health care plans. We will be working to ensure that final legislation provides for strong provisions that expand the availability and affordability of health care coverage to all Americans.
As always, I look forward to keeping you informed through these weekly emails, other email updates, regular staff conference calls and podcasts. For more information, you can also visit fightcancer.org/healthcare or contact Erin O'Neill, senior director for Grassroots at Erin.ONeill@cancer.org or 202-661-5716.
Thanks, as always, for all you do.
Dan
P.S. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acscan for the latest health care reform updates.