Week 3 - Legislative Session in Tallahassee

Week 3 Update

Friday, March 22, 2013

The third week of the 2013 Regular Session has come to a close, with six more slated before the scheduled May 3^rd adjournment.  The week culminated in the Senate with a first look at what Appropriations Chairman, Senator Joe Negron, has planned as an alternative to Medicaid expansion. The proposed “Healthy Florida” program would utilize federal dollars to extend private health-insurance to approximately one million people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $15,000 for an individual and $26,000 for a family of three. Coverage would be contracted through the existing Florida Healthy Kids program, a state plan that now provides subsidized private coverage for about 250,000 low-income children. We are working with our partners to understand more about this proposal and will continue to serve as the voice of cancer patients and survivors throughout the debate.

Both the House and Senate released their budget allocations on Monday of this week detailing how each chamber intends to direct billions of dollars in state spending over the coming fiscal year. This is the first in several years that the state has not been faced with significant cuts. ACS CAN has three budget priorities we are urging legislators to consider:

BREAST CANCER SCREENING - ACTIVELY SUPPORT state funding for the Mary Brogan Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program for medically underserved women, at a level equal to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s program investment in Florida. Our request for the 2013 session is $2.4 million in state funding - building upon the first ever state appropriation for screening within that program last session.

BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH - ACTIVELY SUPPORT measures that will increase Florida’s capacity for research and treatment, including clinical trials, especially measures that generate a substantial state investment in Florida’s research infrastructure. ACTIVELY SUPPORT Fiscal Year 2013-14 funding of the James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program ($7.2 million) and the Bankhead-Coley Cancer Research Program ($5 million) as prescribed in law, with a peer-reviewed and competitive grant process being the basis for program funding allocations.

TOBACCO PREVENTION AND EDUCATION - ACTIVELY SUPPORT the continued, full implementation of Article X, Section 27 of the Florida Constitution, as intended by the voters, funding the program at $65.6 million for FY 2013-14.

The Cancer Treatment Fairness Act gained even more momentum this week. SB 422 by Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto (R - Ft. Myers) and HB 301 by Rep. Debbie Mayfield (R - Vero Beach), would require health insurance policies that provide cancer treatment medication coverage to also provide coverage for oral cancer treatment medications. Out-of-pocket costs to the insured are often higher for oral cancer treatment medications than for other forms of treatment - including intravenous and injectable meds. If successful, these “oral chemo parity” bills would help to level those costs and enhance quality of life for those seeking the treatment option that best fits their needs. Both bills cleared additional committee stops this week.

As always, updated information on ACS CAN’s legislative priorities can be found at www.fightcancer.org/florida and you can get real-time updates on Twitter. Follow us at https://twitter.com/ACSCAN_Florida.