Cancer Action Network: Cancer Advocates Strongly Urge Congress and Administration to Permanently Close Medicaid Coverage Gap

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (TNSPol)(TNSCapv) -- The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network issued the following news release:

As lawmakers deliberate which health care priorities to include in the budget reconciliation package, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is strongly urging Congress and the Administration to once and for all permanently close the Medicaid coverage gap and provide access to quality, affordable coverage to millions of Americans.

An estimated 2.2 million low-income adults in the 12 states that have not yet expanded Medicaid are now in the "coverage gap," uninsured and unable to qualify for affordable health insurance. Included in the reconciliation legislation passed by the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees is a provision developing a new health care coverage option in states that have not expanded Medicaid.

"More than two million people - including cancer patients and survivors - are being denied access to the affordable, potentially lifesaving health care they deserve simply because of where they live," said Lisa Lacasse, president of ACS CAN. "This is an unacceptable reality for which Congress can and must enact a permanent fix."

Extensive and robust research shows that uninsured individuals are more likely to have cancer diagnosed at an advanced stage when survival is less likely. Medicaid expansion helps improve cancer outcomes by offering access to prevention services, timely cancer screening and early detection services. Inequitable access to affordable insurance coverage is also a key factor in the health disparities experienced by communities of color and other populations.

"Closing the Medicaid coverage gap is, at its core, a racial equity issue," said Lacasse. "We know that more than 60 percent of those in the coverage gap are people of color, a reflection of the longstanding and pervasive disparities in health care. ACS CAN's deep commitment to eliminating cancer disparities compels us to implore our elected officials to take action we know will meaningfully impact our goal of achieving equitable access to care for all."

ACS CAN launched a new advertising campaign this week emphasizing the hurdles to cancer care faced by those forced into the coverage gap in the 12 non-expansion states. The ads will run in print and digital publications in the D.C. market through late October. Additional ads will also run in Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon and Washington through early November. The campaign is viewable here: https://www.fightcancer.org/sites/default/files/100456-024_acs_can_print_closethegap.pdf

Cancer advocates nationwide have made clear their support for this effort through letters to the editor in their local newspapers and in direct messages and phone calls to their lawmakers. ACS CAN also joined with the Partnership to Protect Coverage coalition, organizations that represent millions of patients and consumers facing serious, acute and chronic health conditions, to send a letter to congressional leadership stating support for a permanent federal Medicaid fix.

While ACS CAN continues to advocate for a federal fix, our work to encourage individual states to expand continues in earnest as well. In Wyoming, a new poll released this week found that nearly two-thirds (66%) of Wyoming voters support efforts to increase access to health care by expanding Medicaid.

"ACS CAN will continue to speak out strongly and passionately about the need for a permanent solution to the Medicaid coverage gap, as well as advocate to maintain and strengthen access to coverage in states that have expanded Medicaid," said Lacasse. "The health of millions of Americans is on the line. Our elected officials must not let this moment pass."

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October 12, 2021

To: The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Charles Schumer, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer:

As organizations that represent millions of patients and consumers who face serious, acute and chronic health conditions, we urge you to enact permanent policies that expand access to quality and affordable healthcare in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget reconciliation process.

Specifically, we ask that you act swiftly to permanently close the Medicaid coverage gap and make the enhanced advance premium tax credits (APTCs) permanent in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget reconciliation process.

Medicaid is a vitally important program for the patients and individuals we represent. Individuals who fall in the Medicaid coverage gap in the 12 remaining non-expansion states are among the poorest in America and disproportionally represent communities of color. Expansion incentives included in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) continue to play a dynamic role in states that are actively exploring expanding. It is therefore critical that Congress retain these incentives as you explore alternative coverage gap solutions.

For those states that are unlikely to expand, however, it is imperative that the federal government take steps to provide permanent coverage that ensures the full benefits and cost-sharing protections typically offered in Medicaid. Our organizations urge that the solution to close the Medicaid coverage gap be permanent, in order to ensure that patients' access to quality and affordable coverage not be jeopardized in the future. We also ask that the reconciliation package include provisions that ensure that states that have already expanded maintain that coverage.

Our organizations ask that Congress permanently extend the expansion of APTCs included in the American Rescue Plan Act. During the 2021 special enrollment period created in response to the COVID pandemic, 2.8 million Americans enrolled in health insurance coverage. Those who were newly enrolled or returning customers after ARPA implementation saved an average of 50% in premiums and nearly half of healthcare.gov customers with a new plan selection were able to select plans for $10 or less per month. Making the expansion of APTCs permanent will significantly ease the cost burden for people who rely on the individual marketplace for coverage and will provide families peace of mind about the cost of their premiums.

Congress has an unprecedented opportunity to expand access to high-quality and affordable coverage, and we urge you to seize it. All individuals, regardless of where they live, deserve access to quality and affordable insurance coverage that they can count on now and in the years to come. Making these provisions temporary, particularly for only a handful of years, could ultimately pose a threat to future access to care and patients' well-being. Our organizations stand ready to assist in achieving these goals.

Sincerely,

The AIDS Institute

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

ALS Association

American Diabetes Association

American Heart Association

American Kidney Fund

American Liver Foundation

American Lung Association

Arthritis Foundation

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

Cancer Support Community

CancerCare

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Epilepsy Foundation

Hemophilia Federation of America

JDRF

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Lutheran Services in America

March of Dimes

Muscular Dystrophy Association

National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship

National Eczema Association

National Health Council

National Hemophilia Foundation

National Kidney Foundation

National Multiple Sclerosis Society

National Organization for Rare Disorders

National Patient Advocate Foundation

Susan G. Komen

United Way Worldwide

WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

Cc: The Honorable Ron Wyden, Chairman, Senate Finance Committee

The Honorable Richard Neal, Chairman, House Committee on Ways and Means

The Honorable Frank Pallone, Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce