Vermont 2025 Legislative Priorities

Victory in the fight against cancer requires bold public policy solutions that promote cancer prevention, increase early detection of cancer, expand access to quality, affordable health care, reduce disparities and advance health equity. State and local lawmakers’ decisions impact the lives of those affected by cancer. In 2025, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) will prioritize state and local legislative and regulatory efforts that provide affordable, adequate access to health insurance including Medicaid; insurance coverage of needed services like biomarker testing; evidence-based prevention policies including tobacco prevention policies; ensure adequate funding for lifesaving cancer screening and prevention programs; and enact prevention policies to protect kids from tobacco products and to help support those who are trying to quit. These fact-based priorities include:

Ensuring Access to Quality Care

• Access to Biomarker Testing: ACS CAN will advocate for improved coverage of comprehensive biomarker testing. Progress in improving cancer outcomes increasingly involves the use of precision medicine, which uses information about a person’s own genes or proteins to better diagnose and treat diseases like cancer. Biomarker testing is an important step to accessing precision medicine which includes targeted therapies that can lead to improved survivorship and better quality of life for cancer patients, but insurance coverage for biomarker testing is failing to keep pace with innovations and advancements in treatment.

• Paid Family and Medical Leave: ACS CAN will advocate for legislation that ensures all working cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers have access to paid family and medical leave that allows them to take time off work to attend to their own or a loved one’s care without losing their job or income.

Cancer Prevention and Early Detection

• Breast and Cervical Cancer: ACS CAN will advocate for funding of the state breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment program for low-income uninsured and underinsured women administered by the Vermont Department of Health.

Reducing the Toll of Tobacco

• Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Funding: ACS CAN will work to increase funding for fact-based, statewide tobacco prevention and cessation programs to prevent kids from starting to use tobacco and help those who are trying to quit.

Cancer Research Funding  

• State Cancer Registries: ACS Can will work to protect appropriations to support state cancer registries which provide the data-driven foundation for the state cancer control efforts. 

For more information, contact: Mike Rollo, Vermont Government Relations Director
[email protected] | 603.518.6469