Congress returned this week from its Thanksgiving break to begin a new and important phase in its historic attempt to pass health care reform legislation. With the Senate having begun pivotal floor debate Monday, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action NetworkSM (ACS CAN) is working with lawmakers from both parties to ensure that the bill takes important steps to remove cost barriers to care by ending arbitrary lifetime caps on benefits, reducing or eliminating co-pays for preventive services including mammograms and colonoscopies, and limiting the ability of insurance companies to charge more for coverage based on an applicant’s health status or age.
As the leading voice of patients in the debate, ACS CAN is working to protect the bill’s strongest provisions and strengthen it by making quality coverage more affordable for low- and middle-income families. We know that a final bill will not be perfect, but ACS CAN is working to ensure that it improves the health care system as dramatically as possible for cancer patients, survivors, and their families.
The Senate debate will likely last three weeks or more, with senators offering scores of amendments. ACS CAN is closely monitoring the floor debate to ensure that any changes do not threaten the priority needs of people with cancer. Meanwhile, ACS CAN’s grassroots advocates across the country are contacting lawmakers to emphasize the importance of those priorities and to encourage the Senate to pass a comprehensive bill by the end of this year.
If the bill passes the Senate, we hope that congressional leaders will come together early in 2010 to merge the Senate bill with the previously passed House bill that includes very strong provisions for cancer patients. The resulting bill will then return to the House and Senate for final votes that, if successful, will send the bill to the president for his signature.
Enactment of comprehensive health care reform legislation is within reach, but there is still much to be done. The political rhetoric is likely to grow more heated in the coming weeks, making it especially important for each of us to remain focused on the singular goal of dramatically improving the health care system for people with cancer. ACS CAN is strongly hopeful that we will achieve that goal through meaningful reform.
As always, thank you for all you do to make our lifesaving work possible.
John R. Seffrin, PhD | Chief Executive Officer