Iowa continues to fall short when it comes to passing legislation that prevents and reduces suffering and death from cancer. According to the latest edition of How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality, Iowa failed to measure up to policy recommendations in nearly all areas of tobacco control, including cigarette taxes.
The Iowa State Department of Health and Iowa Medicaid Enterprise recently announced that smoking cessation therapies for Iowa Medicaid enrollees will no longer be subject to prior authorization requirements. Beginning May 1, patients will not have to wait for additional insurance approval to access nicotine replacement therapy, such as a patch or gum, or oral smoking cessation medications.
Iowa falls short when it comes to implementing legislation to prevent and reduce suffering and death from cancer according to the latest edition of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality, released today.
It’s hard to remember what it was like before Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act went into effect. Restaurants and bars had two sections: one smoking and the other for secondhand smoking. Dining tables had ashtrays on them. Smoking was allowed at malls and bowling alleys.
Hard to imagine, but only a decade ago we had smoking sections and ashtrays on tables in restaurants. Children could not enjoy a meal with their families without breathing in secondhand smoke.
The following Letter to the Editor has been submitted by American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteer Sarah Elsbernd of Ossian.
Dr. Richard L. Deming of Des Moines is a longtime volunteer of ACS CAN as well as a respected oncologist and community leader. His term as ACS CAN board chair started in January.
Volunteers will learn how to advocate with their lawmakers about issues that are important to cancer patients and their support network.
States would likely face increased costs and cancer patients and survivors could face delayed preventive, diagnostic and curative care under alternative Medicaid financing models being considered by Congress. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) today sent a letter detailing the organization’s concerns to select governors...