Governor Nixon Signs Legislation Benefiting Cancer Patients in Missouri

Governor Nixon Signs Legislation Benefiting Cancer Patients in Missouri
ACS CAN Volunteers & Advocates Applaud Efforts

KANSAS CITY, MO – March 19, 2014

Surrounded by volunteers, advocates, cancer patients and caregivers at the
American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Kansas City, Governor Jay Nixon signed Senate Bill 668 giving cancer patients in Missouri access to the best treatment available.

The oral chemotherapy parity legislation, which was proposed earlier this year by Representative Sheila Solon and Senator Ryan Silvey, brings insurance coverage to both forms of chemotherapy- intravenous (IV) and pill (oral) form requiring plans to have similar out-of-pocket costs for oral chemotherapy products if traditional chemotherapies are already covered.

“Missouri patients will no longer be forced to choose between the chemotherapy that could save their life or one that is covered by their insurance,” said Stacy Reliford, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Government Relations Director in Missouri. “We applaud this legislation which now helps ensure cancer patients have access to the most effective cancer treatments for them and offers patients and caregivers an overall better quality of life.”

Oral treatments offer patients distinct advantages over traditional intravenous chemotherapy, including the fact that they are targeted therapies which attack only the cancer cells, leaving the healthy ones alone. Oral chemotherapy offers the flexibility and convenience of not having to drive long distances to a treatment facility for IV infusions, a lower risk of complications and fewer, milder side effects.

In 2014, approximately 34,000 Missourians will be diagnosed with cancer and 15-20 percent will be diagnosed with a type of cancer where oral chemotherapy is the best and sometimes the only form of treatment. Scientific advancements during the past several years have increased the availability and effectiveness of oral medications for cancer treatment. Up to 25 percent of all current drugs in the pipeline are oral treatments, adding new and less invasive alternatives to traditional intravenous (IV) chemotherapy infusions for treatment of at least 54 different types of cancer.

Missouri is the 29th state, including the District of Columbia, to pass oral chemotherapy parity legislation to help equalize patient out-of-pocket costs, modernize health insurance, and improve cancer care.

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.