Washington, D.C. -- August 28, 2014 -- Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett's decision to accept federal funding to broaden access to health coverage through Medicaid gives thousands of Pennsylvania families the security of knowing they can get access to mammograms, colonoscopies and other lifesaving cancer screenings and treatments they cannot currently afford. The move means that more than 600,000 currently uninsured Pennsylvanians will have access to care to help prevent, treat and survive cancer -- a disease that kills more than 28,670 people in the state annually. ACS CAN urges governors across the country to put aside partisan politics and increase access to critical care through Medicaid for the country's most vulnerable individuals, so families have access to lifesaving cancer prevention, early detection and cancer treatment, regardless of where they live. An estimated 1.6 million people in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and more than 585,000 people will die from the disease.æ In Pennsylvania this year, an estimated 79,920 people will be diagnosed with cancer. ACS CAN is the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate organization of the American Cancer Society, dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage lawmakers, candidates and government officials to support laws and policies that will make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Alissa Crispino or Steve Weiss American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network 202-661-5772 or 202-661-5711 alissa.crispino@cancer.org or steve.weiss@cancer.org #acscan #cancer #Medicaid #ACA
