WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 15, 2011 – “People with cancer and their families are urging lawmakers to reject the funding cuts in the House budget resolution for fiscal year 2012 that would make it more difficult, and in some cases impossible, for them to access lifesaving care.
“The budget proposal would eliminate Medicare’s traditional guarantee of care and instead force seniors to buy private insurance with a subsidy that may be inadequate to pay for necessary coverage for someone with cancer or at risk for cancer. This change could force seniors, who represent half of all newly diagnosed cancer patients, to choose between paying out-of-pocket for lifesaving cancer screening tests, treatments and follow-up care or forgoing that care.
“The budget proposal would also impact the Medicaid program by financing it through block grants of fixed dollar amounts that would shift the health care cost burden to states and could lead to restrictions in eligibility, enrollment and benefits. These restrictions could increase the number of cancer patients and survivors who must skip lifesaving treatment because they lack health coverage, and reduce the number of people who are screened for cancer. People without health insurance are about half as likely as the insured – including those in Medicaid – to get recommended cancer screening tests such as mammograms and colonoscopies.
“The budget also proposes deep cuts in discretionary spending for health care that are likely to inhibit cancer research at the National Institutes of Health and cancer prevention and early detection programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cutting research would jeopardize promising scientific advances in the research pipeline that have been made possible by past federal investments. Funding reductions for existing prevention programs and new initiatives in the Prevention and Public Health Fund would curtail efforts in every state to help reduce tobacco use, fight the obesity epidemic that is a known cause of cancer, and increase access to lifesaving cancer screenings.
“Cancer kills 1,500 people per day in America, or one person every minute. On behalf of the more than 11 million cancer survivors across the country, ACS CAN urges lawmakers of both political parties to work together to correct the elements of this budget proposal that impede patients’ access to adequate, affordable health care.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Steven Weiss or Alissa Havens
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5711 or (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
