2012 NM Legislative Priorities
2012 State Legislative Priorities
Cancer has become one of the most preventable and increasingly curable life-threatening diseases – but only if we take the steps necessary to prevent it outright, detect it early, and improve access to care. To this end, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) in New Mexico is working on the following legislative priorities in support of our mission to end cancer as a major health problem.
Ensuring Access to Quality Care/Implementation of 2010 Affordable Care Act
· Support legislation that maintains access or provides increased access to cancer-related prescriptions and treatments for low-income and uninsured persons.
· Work with the legislature and governor to ensure that Affordable Care Act implementation works for cancer patients and cancer prevention.
· Ensure preventive services remain accessible and affordable for low-income and uninsured persons.
Lung Cancer and Tobacco Control
· Eliminate the large discrepancy in taxation rates between cigarettes and non-cigarette tobacco products. The use of highly-addictive smokeless tobacco and flavored cigars is increasing significantly among New Mexico youth. Low taxation rates that favor smokeless tobacco and cheap cigars cause children to initiate tobacco use and make it harder for adults to quit. Allowing this inequity in taxation rates to continue costs the state $7 million per year, not including increased medical costs.
· Protect funding for local service providers that offer community-based Tobacco Use Prevention and Control program services.
· Protect against diversions of Tobacco Settlement funds to issues that are unrelated to tobacco use and chronic disease.
Cancer Prevention, Treatment, and Survivorship
· Defend against further funding cuts to the Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program and other cancer-related chronic disease programs at the New Mexico Department of Health.
For More Information, Contact: Sandra Adondakis, NM Government Relations Director
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Great West Division · Sandra.Adondakis@cancer.org ·
Phone 505.262.6019 · Fax 505.266.9513 · ww.acscan.org/newmexico
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.
New Mexico Updates
