Letter: Bill supports biomarker testing
This letter originally ran in the Lincoln Journal Star.
News
Victory for cancer patients: US House passes health care reform
November 9, 2009
If you were flipping the channels on Saturday night and accidentally passed by C-Span, you missed an important vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.ξ At 10:57 p.m. EST, the House passed health care reform with 220 votes, including one Republican.
This vote was a victory for cancer patients.ξ Thanks to the great support of our volunteers over the past two years, ACS CAN was able to get many key provisions included in the bill.ξ They included:
- Refocusing the system to emphasize prevention
- Ending the practice of denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions
- Limiting the cost burden on families by providing care that covers more and costs less
- Emphasizing patientsÈ quality of life
"If enacted, this bill could have immediate and lasting benefits for millions of people with cancer and other life-threatening chronic diseases," said Daniel E. Smith, president of ACS CAN. "Getting a cancer diagnosis would no longer put families at risk of being denied or getting priced out of lifesaving coverage."
Next up, the U.S. Senate.