WASHINGTON, D.C. -- March 26, 2009 -- “The House and Senate Budget Committees passed budget resolutions this week that enable critical health care reform to move forward in this country. The result is good news for cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones who know too well the gaps that exist in the broken health care system.
“Reforming the 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.
“Access to quality, affordable health care is becoming an increasing struggle for too many Americans across the country. American Cancer Society research shows that the lack of access to health insurance too often results in 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, it is imperative that Members of Congress increase funding for prevention and cancer research in the FY 2010 budget. 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 need to make sure they have access to those 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 is proud to be working with a broad cross-section of stakeholders to make sure any health care system fix focuses more on prevention and ensures 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]