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While roughly 83% of adults in the United States will visit a health care provider in the next year, an estimated
News
2-16-12 Affordable Care Act Update
February 17, 2012
Federal Update
The Prevention and Public Health Fund is a major target in both the president's 2013 fiscal year (FY 2013) budget, and the payroll tax extension legislation that Congress is debating this week. The goal of the Fund is to refocus the health care system on early detection and disease prevention through innovative and integrated methods at the federal, state and local levels.
The payroll tax extension bill compromise includes a major cut to the Fund, approximately $5 billion dollars to pay for the cost of the bill which includes a provision that would use the money to reimburse doctors who treat Medicare patients. The bill is expected to pass the House and Senate later this week. ACS CAN sent letters to the conferees last month urging them to protect the Fund.
The President's FY 2013 Budget proposal would also redirect money from the Fund to plug budget holes in existing prevention programs. Doing so would limit the fund's potential by cutting more than one-fifth of its overall budget by 2022.
Read the ACS CAN press releases regarding the president's budget, as well as a second ACS CAN press release on potential cuts to the Prevention and Public Health fund.
State Update
The Affordable Care Act includes several provisions that allow millions of individuals across the country to be eligible for Medicaid or federal tax credits to subsidize the cost of insurance, beginning in 2014. The Kaiser Family Foundation has analysis and a tool that estimates the number of uninsured Americans who were either uninsured or bought coverage on their own in 2010 by zip code, and who the Affordable Care Act would have helped had it been fully implemented last year.
As always, thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help cancer patients and their families.
Chris Hansen | President
ACS Cancer Action Network | American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc.