WASHINGTON, D.C. -- April 29, 2009 -- “The House and Senate passed a final Budget Resolution today that fosters forward progress on efforts to reform our health care system and lays the foundation for funding increases for research and prevention over FY 2009 funding levels. The result is good news for cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones who need timely access to quality, affordable care and know too well the gaps that exist in the broken health care system.
“Comprehensive reform is critical and must be a top priority for elected officials this year. Delaying action or simply falling back on the status quo is not an option. Reforming the broken health care system is not only critical to defeating cancer, but it is also vital to repairing the ailing economy. Now Congress needs to commit the necessary down payment to ensure that all Americans have access to quality health care.
“Millions of Americans are struggling to keep up with the high costs of health care, and with unemployment rising, a growing number of them simply do not have access to quality, affordable health care. American Cancer Society research shows that the lack of access to health insurance too often results in a later-stage cancer diagnosis, when the disease is more expensive to treat and harder to survive. We need to transform our broken ‘sick care’ system into one that focuses on prevention and keeping people well.
“In addition to making a commitment to health care reform, the Budget Resolution allows for increasing funding for prevention and cancer research in the FY 2010. We already have many of the tools we need to detect a disease that will kill an estimated 560,000 people in America this year, but we must ensure that all Americans have access to critical screenings and treatments. Further, we need money for research to develop tests and treatments for those deadly cancers for which we still lack answers.
“ACS CAN continues to work with a broad cross-section of stakeholders to make sure health care reform is a top priority this year. Fixing the broken health care system requires that we focus more on prevention and ensure that all Americans have access to health coverage that is adequate, affordable, available and administratively simple.”
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 https://www.fightcancer.org/.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Steven Weiss
Phone: (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected]
Alissa Havens
Phone: (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected]
