Severe Cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, Disease Prevention and Medical Research Would Threaten Access to Health Care for People With Cancer
WASHINGTON – April 5, 2011 – Following is a statement from Christopher W. Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), about the budget resolution released in the U.S. House of Representatives today:
“The FY 2012 budget resolution introduced by House leaders could make it more difficult and more expensive for millions of seniors and low-income families to access lifesaving health care. It could also stall progress in the fight against cancer by defunding an historic investment in prevention and cutting federal funding for cancer research.
“The budget’s proposal to finance Medicaid through block grants could lead to new restrictions in eligibility, enrollment and benefits that could deny cancer patients the care they need. Turning Medicare, which has provided affordable, adequate health care to seniors for nearly 50 years, into an ill-defined voucher program with limited benefits could have devastating consequences for cancer patients. With more than half of newly diagnosed cancer patients over the age of 65, seniors would be forced to make tough choices about what care they receive and what they forego.
“The budget resolution would also eliminate funding necessary to implement critical patient protections in the Affordable Care Act that are improving the health care system for people with cancer and their families. The budget would deny consumers the ability to challenge insurers when their claims are denied, threaten health benefits for consumers with pre-existing conditions who have previously been denied coverage, and eliminate an historic investment in prevention that is combating tobacco use, fighting the obesity epidemic that is contributing to diagnoses of cancer and helping people get the lifesaving cancer screenings they need.
“The resolution proposes serious cuts to cancer research at the National Institutes of Health, jeopardizing potential discoveries in the research pipeline that could lead to treatments for some of the most deadly cancers.
“Cancer still kills 1,500 Americans every day. Limiting access to proven prevention and treatments and cutting research that carries the promise of new early detection tools and treatments makes little sense.”
ACS CAN volunteers in every state will continue to advocate for access to meaningful health care for all Americans as well as investment in research and prevention programs that will promote progress in the fight to eliminate death and suffering from cancer.
A recent poll found strong bipartisan public support for the fight against cancer. More than three-quarters of the public opposes cutting funding for cancer research (77 percent) and prevention programs (76 percent) as part of the effort to reduce federal spending. Public opposition is strong across party lines – more than 60 percent of Republicans, more than 75 percent of Independents and nearly 90 percent of Democrats are opposed to cuts in cancer funding.
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]
