Washington, D.C. – March 31, 2011 – The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is urging senators to vote for an amendment offered by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) that would require research into the impact of a proposal to fix a flawed small business reporting requirement on low- and middle-income families.
ACS CAN supports repealing the burdensome reporting requirement included in the Affordable Care Act, but wants to ensure that paying for the repeal by requiring consumers to pay back premium subsidies if their income exceeds a certain level would not discourage individuals and families from enrolling in health insurance coverage through state-based exchanges.
The text of the letter from Christopher W. Hansen, president of ACS CAN, follows:
Dear Senator:
We are writing in support of the amendment proposed by Senator Menendez to S. 493. The Menendez amendment would require the Secretary of HHS to study the impact of the Johanns pay-for on the cost of insurance for small business owners and employees and determine if the Johanns pay-for will result in more people being uninsured.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network has supported policy solutions that would make adequate and affordable insurance coverage available to cancer patients and survivors.
Those provisions are currently included in the Affordable Care Act. While we are supportive of bipartisan efforts to reduce the 1099 reporting burden on small businesses created by the act, we are concerned that the Johanns amendment would create a cost burden adversely impacting low-income families, many of whom would be cancer patients and survivors.
The Menendez amendment would simply ascertain whether the pay-for in the underlying amendment would pose an unacceptable cost increase to small business premiums or a loss of coverage. It would not interfere with the repeal of the 1099 provision.
Accordingly, we urge your support of the Menendez amendment.
Sincerely,
Christopher W. Hansen
President
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
ACS CAN, the leading voice of patients in the health care debate, is working to ensure that critical patient protections embedded in the Affordable Care Act are implemented as strongly as possible for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. For more information, visit https://www.fightcancer.org/healthcare.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alissa Havens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5772 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]