April Advocacy Roundup

Welcome Blair Horner
Starting next week, our team will have a new Vice President for Advocacy!  For over thirty years, Blair Horner has been one of New York State's leading advocates for consumer, public health and government reforms.  As legislative director for the New York Public Interest Research Group, Blair worked side-by-side with the American Cancer Society on the landmark clean indoor air law and many other tobacco-related measures in New York.   Blair will be a strong addition to the American Cancer Society and to the fight against cancer.  His arrival has already received significant media coverage, including an interview with Fred Dicker of the New York Post.  Read the Associated Press story.  Please help us welcome Blair to our team.  He started May 2nd.

Congress (Finally) Passes a Budget
In the final two days before spring recess, Congress this month actually both passed its FY11 budget bill and began action on FY12.  On April 14th, Congress finally passed a spending bill for the remainder of FY11, narrowly averting a federal government shutdown.  The spending bill included a limited reduction in federal funding for cancer research but potentially significant cuts to proven prevention and cancer screening programs at the CDC.   These severe cuts could reduce the number of women who can access lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings by as much as 40,000 and eliminate access to colorectal cancer screenings for low-income and underserved individuals.

The very next day, on the 15th, the House took yet another vote, this time on its FY12 budget bill, also known as the Ryan budget.  This is the plan that would turn Medicaid into a block grant program and turn Medicare into a modified voucher program. The budget also proposes deep cuts in discretionary spending that will likely impact both cancer research and early detection programs at the CDC.  The Ryan budget now goes before the Senate, where it does not have the votes for passage.  We will keep you informed as this issue plays out over the next several months, and will be calling on you to take action as needed. 
  
State Health Insurance Exchanges Slowly Taking Shape
Under the Affordable Care Act, all states are required to establish a Health Insurance Exchange by 2014  or participate instead in a federal Exchange.  A Health Insurance Exchange is a "marketplace" where individuals and small businesses will go to buy health insurance.  The Exchange will serve many of the currently uninsured residents of our states, as well as employees of small businesses.  Customers in the Exchange will also be qualified for subsidies to help offset the cost of premiums.  The American Cancer Society is deeply interested in the rules developed to operate the Exchange so that it best meets the needs of cancer patients and their families. 

In order to stay on track with federal benchmarks for establishing an Exchange, states need to pass establishing legislation this session.  31 states have already introduced legislation on the matter, and we are pushing hard for New York and New Jersey to make similar moves before their sessions end.  In New York, the Governor's office held a stakeholder meeting last week to gather feedback on several pressing issues, such as Exchange governance and structure.  State Director Russ Sciandra was among the attendees invited, along with other consumer advocates, health plans and business interests.  The American Cancer Society and ACS CAN support the following principles for creating a state Health Insurance Exchange:

• There should be one statewide Exchange - not regional or multi-state exchanges.
• The Exchange should function as an active purchaser, aggressively leveraging its market share to negotiate the best value for consumers.
• Plans on the Exchange should have high benefits standards.
• The individual and small group markets should be merged, to spread risk more effectively and maximize purchasing power.
• The Exchange must offer strong consumer assistance to help people understand their options, enroll in plans and fix problems.
• The Exchange should fall under the purview of a public authority.

Following the stakeholders meeting, Russ received significant media coverage as he was able to present our views in several different venues, including a guest spot on YNN's Capital Tonight.  

In addition, Russ was extensively quoted in a story that ran on Northeast Public Radio.  Listen to the story.  On Saturday, a story ran via Gannett News Service that quoted Russ and appeared in the Journal News, Times Union, Ithaca Journal, Democrat & Chronicle, Star Gazette and Poughkeepsie Journal.  And earlier this week, Russ authored a letter to the editor that ran in the Albany Times Union in response to an op-ed from the Manhattan Institute.  The letter articulates our opposition to the Institute's position on how best to develop an exchange.  Read the letter.

In New Jersey, the state's Working Group on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy held forums throughout the state on the formation of health insurance exchanges.  The American Cancer Society was asked to participate as part of a consumer panel.  State Director Jennifer Sullivan represented ACS at the forum, where she advocated for the principles listed above for New Jersey's health insurance exchange.  A report from the stakeholder forums will be issued over the summer.

Teen Tanning

As prom and beach season beckons, we are redoubling our efforts to enact legislation in both states prohibiting the use of tanning facilities by children under the age of 18.  In New York, our efforts are focused on Republican members of the Senate, where the bill is in its third reading.  In New Jersey, we are pushing for a hearing on the bill in the Assembly Health Committee, before the legislature recesses for the summer.  We will let you know if and when grassroots action is needed on this issue in either state. Read our Memo of Support.

Amicus Brief Filed in NYC Health Warnings Case
As you may remember, in late December a federal court struck a huge blow to our tobacco control efforts in NYC by finding that NYC Board of Health's requirements that tobacco retailers post graphic warning signs and contact information for cessation services at point of sale were preempted by federal law.  We had been watching this case closely, and had even filed as amicus at the trial level to try and uphold the law - though our arguments were geared mostly towards the industry's First Amendment claims (which seemed more likely to prevail than the preemption claims, which were more of a side note at the time). Given the importance of this case, this month we again signed on as amicus to a brief authored by the national Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, at the appeals court level.  The brief responds to the preemption claim, outlining for the appeals court how the new FDA statute clearly provides that states and localities can pass this type of restriction.  Meanwhile, ACS CAN has signed on to a second brief, which again addresses the First Amendment claims.  We believe they are both very important arguments and are hopeful that one or both will prevail in court.

Save the Date: Second Annual Donald H. Gemson Cancer Prevention Public Policy Awards
The  Second Annual  Donald H Gemson Cancer Prevention Public Policy Award event, to benefit ACS CAN,  will be held on Thursday, June 23rd at the Hilton Short Hills to recognize two very deserving honorees: Ronald Nelson, Chairman and CEO, Avis Budget Group and a founding co-chair of CEOs Against Cancer; and Dr. Fred Jacobs, former New Jersey Commissioner of Health, current chair of NJ Breathes, and Executive Vice President of Saint Barnabas Health Care System.  Avis Budget Group has already committed significant sponsorship and underwriting support of the event and we are currently seeking additional sponsors.  The Gemson Award was created last year to honor the memory of  Don Gemson, a Society board member and public health champion in the political, corporate and academic arenas.  The Award recognizes individuals in New Jersey and New York who advance cancer prevention through innovative public policy and/or private sector initiatives.  Individuals are nominated by the community-at-large and nominations are reviewed  and recommended by a Board committee.  

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Please don't hesitate to contact any member of our advocacy team if you have questions or would like additional information about any of the above.  We also are posting more frequent updates on Advocacy issues and campaigns at www.fightcancer.org/newyork and www.fightcancer.org/newjersey.