Empowering patient voices through voter registration
While roughly 83% of adults in the United States will visit a health care provider in the next year, an estimated
News
6-16-11 Affordable Care Act Update
June 17, 2011
Federal Update
National Prevention Strategy
The first ever National Prevention Strategy, called for under the Affordable Care Act, was released today. The strategy was created to help move the nation from a focus on sickness and disease to one based on prevention and wellness. By focusing on prevention, the strategy will help Americans stay healthy and fit and improve our nation’s prosperity. The strategy’s four strategic directions and seven priorities include evidence-based recommendations fundamental to improving the nation’s health. Dr. John R. Seffrin is a presidentially-appointed member of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health, which played a key role in the development of the strategy.
Read the ACS CAN statement.
State Update
To date, the governors of six states -- California, Colorado, Maryland, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia -- have signed health insurance exchange legislation into law, and four states -- Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, and Oregon have bills awaiting their governor's signature. In addition, Alabama joined Georgia, Indiana and Mississippi as states in which governors bypassed their legislatures to establish exchanges via executive order.
Read more about states’ efforts to pass exchange legislation in Politico Pro, Stateline, and The Washington Post.
'
Reports and Media Articles
Cancer Facts and Figures 2011 Out Tomorrow – Special Section on Disparities
The American Cancer Society's annual cancer statistics article, and its companion publication Cancer Facts & Figures 2011, will be released tomorrow, Friday, June 17. The annual report, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and Facts & Figures provide nationwide and state-specific estimates of new cancer cases and deaths for the current year. The reports also feature a special section on the impact of eliminating disparities on cancer deaths. The annual reports have become critical tools for scientists, public health experts, and policymakers in assessing the current burden of cancer. An electronic version of Cancer Facts & Figures 2011 will be posted here once the embargo lifts at 12:01am ET, Friday.
Cancer and Bankruptcy
A study released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago earlier this month found that as cancer patients' survival times increase, so do their bankruptcy rates. Researchers found that the risk of bankruptcy was highest among patients with cancer of the lung, thyroid and leukemia/lymphoma. The study also found that people over 65 -- who are typically covered by Medicare -- have a much lower risk of bankruptcy than their younger counterparts. The researchers compared U.S. bankruptcy court records to cancer registry data from nearly 232,000 adult cancer survivors in western Washington over 14 years. Read more about the study in HealthDay.
As always, thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help cancer patients and their families.
Christopher W. Hansen
President
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)