February Advocacy Round Up

Cancer Research Funding Under Attack
Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives spent four days debating HR1, a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through September 30 of this year. The bill, which passed, cuts federal spending by almost $100 billion, and includes a 5% cut of $1.6 billion to the National Institutes of Health budget. The legislation also slashed the budget at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by 21%, which includes cuts to proven cancer screening programs like the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP).

Attention now turns to the Senate, which is expected to take up the bill beginning today. The current CR expires on March 4, making this the top issue for Congress this week. Our division will likely not be highly involved in the Senate strategy, as we have very supportive Senators in both states, but we will keep you posted as the situation develops. 

Affordable Care Act - New Threats, New Alliances
In addition to cutting cancer research and prevention programs, HR1 was also used to block funding to pay federal employees implementing the Affordable Care Act. Nine amendments to the CR passed that would greatly complicate the law’s implementation, including language affecting the development of regulations to govern the health benefit exchanges and determine the essential benefits package. Amendments also passed that would deny funding to enforce the new medical loss ratio rules. Fortunately, Senate leaders do not support the bill’s deep budget cuts, and they strongly oppose the ACA-related amendments. Again, we will keep you posted as this issue plays out.

Last week ACS CAN announced the launch of a new national educational collaboration on the Affordable Care Act, called the Health Care and You Coalition. The coalition, which is led by AARP and involves other trusted groups in the health care sector, will provide non-partisan information to patients, providers, and the public about the Affordable Care Act. The effort includes the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, Catholic Health Association of the United States, and National Community Pharmacists Association. 

President's Day Recess Activities
Last week our legislative ambassadors across the division spent the week of President's Day Recess meeting with Members of Congress in their home offices and pressing the need to increase funding for cancer research and protect the provisions in the Affordable Care Act. ACS CAN provided plastic beakers that were left behind with the latest ACS CAN ad and a volunteer personalized message asking for increased cancer research funding. Our legislative ambassadors shared personal stories about the impact that cancer research has had on their own lives and on the lives of people they know. They also asked supportive Members of Congress to save the date and participate in Celebrate with Action events in September to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of ACS CAN. Watch legislative ambassadors from New York's 27th congressional district make their case in this new video created by Paul McGee.

New York City - Big Smokefree Parks and Beaches Victory
As expected, last week New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation banning smoking in city parks, beaches and pedestrian plazas starting in late May. “We can raise an entire generation of New Yorkers who are free from the dangers of nicotine addiction,” said Mayor Bloomberg, a former smoker, at the bill-signing ceremony last Tuesday. Congratulations to Michele Bonan and her New York City coalition for once again leading the nation in protecting the public's health.

New York State - Medicaid, Budget, Tanning
Last week we learned that the proposal we submitted along with several other groups to expand access to smoking cessation assistance in the state Medicaid program is among the recommendations submitted to the Governor by the Medicaid Redesign Team. We expect it will be adopted by Medicaid, as Medicaid staff were very enthusiastic about the proposal in their presentation to the Team. We're pleased and encouraged that the Redesign Team recognized the value of an aggressive smoking cessation program in Medicaid, which has already been proven to save money in the state of Massachusetts. Read the full proposal to learn more.

Governor Andrew Cuomo released his budget on February 2, with surprisingly good news for cancer fighting programs. Though the state faces a $10 billion deficit, the Governor has shown that he clearly understands the NYS Cancer Services Program and NYS Tobacco Control Program have high worth by protecting them in his budget proposal.  The Governor has recommended funding the NYS Tobacco Control Program at $58,415,000, the same level as the current fiscal year, and the NYS Cancer Services Program at $26,773,750, a cut of $650,000 from the current year's budget that the Governor says will not come from clinical services. We look forward to working with the Senate and Assembly to restore the $650,000 cut to the Cancer Services Program, and to assure that the Governor’s proposal for the Tobacco Control Program remains intact in the final budget.

And, our efforts to protect teens from the harmful effects of indoor tanning took a huge step forward this month when the NYS Senate Health Committee passed the bill to restrict minors from using tanning beds in New York. Next, the full Assembly and Senate must pass the bills. This will be a big issue for us in the spring, as we approach both prom season and the post-budget legislative session. Read our memo of support, and stay tuned for ways you can help.

New Jersey - Budget, Affordable Care Act
Last week Governor Chris Christie gave his annual budget address, and we were pleased to learn that cancer fighting programs like NJ CEED have not been impacted. We are grateful that Governor Christie recognizes the significance of these programs, and we look forward to working with the Senate and Assembly to assure that these programs continue to receive the necessary funding. 

The American Cancer Society has been invited to participate in forums being held next month to solicit priorities on the implementation of New Jersey's health insurance exchange(s), a key provision of the Affordable Care Act. Sponsored by the state's Work Group on the Affordable Care Act and the Rutgers University Center for State Health Policy, the forums will focus on the implementation plans for one or more health insurance exchanges in the state. Feedback gathered at the forums will inform the state's planning, and this is a tremendous opportunity for our organization to weigh in, to ensure that any exchanges created are affordable, easy to access, and provide comprehensive benefits.

Join us in Poughkeepsie for the Gene Krupa Story!
On April 10, internationally acclaimed drummer Arthor von Blomberg and his 16-piece big band will present musical highlights from the Gene Krupa Story, as a fundraiser for ACS CAN. The performance will be held at the Bardavon Theatre in Poughkeepsie, and is being organized by Legislative Ambassador Extraordinaire Neil Eisenberg, a former schoolmate of von Blomberg. Tickets are available at the Bardavon box office, Ticketmaster, or through designated staff contacts at the Loudonville, Kingston, Poughkeepsie and Suffern regional offices. This event and the event to present the Don Gemson Award will be our only two ACS CAN fundraising events in the division this fiscal year. Please support them if you can.
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Please don't hesitate to contact any member of our advocacy team if you have questions or would like additional information about any of the above. We also are posting more frequent updates on Advocacy issues and campaigns at www.fightcancer.org/newyork and www.fightcancer.org/newjersey.