Share

January Advocacy Roundup

AdvocacyRoundup
FROM: Peter Slocum, Vice President of Advocacy NY & NJ

Access to Care - Health Care Reform

As you know, this month we experienced a setback in our efforts to enact comprehensive health care reform legislation at the federal level. The result of the special election to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat held by Edward Kennedy before his death has shifted the strategy for producing and passing a final bill.  This does not mean we will abandon the fight. It just means that our road has gotten a little longer and steeper.  But we will continue to urge our congressional leaders to move forward on comprehensive reform and not to step back on the promise of significant improvements to the health care system.  And we will seize every opportunity to make our case.

Shortly after the Massachusetts special election, ACS CAN and our partner organizations, AARP, Consumers Union, Families USA and SEIU, sent a letter to Congress with the message to move forward on comprehensive reform.  The letter, which was addressed to Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid but went to every Congressional office, focused on the substantive improvements health care reform would make in people's lives.  In addition, the American Cancer Society's National Board of Directors adopted a formal resolution encouraging passage of comprehensive health care reform legislation.  And, ACS CAN hosted a live discussion during the President's State of the Union Address earlier this week, as ACS CAN volunteers from across the country watched and chatted online about cancer topics including health care reform. Slocum

Next month will bring new opportunities for raising the issue, as Members of Congress return home to their districts for the President's Day Recess.  Our legislative ambassadors are ready, and will press the need for health care reform in meetings with Members as well as through a nationwide letters to the editor campaign. 

New Jersey Calorie Posting

Thanks largely to advocacy by ACS and our anti-obesity allies, New Jersey became only the 4th state to pass a law requiring fast food restauants to post calories along with prices.  This will give consumers a new tool to help them make healthier choices.    Legislation passed this month and signed into law by the outgoing Governor Corzine will require chain restaurants in New Jersey to post the calories for basic meals and drinks on menus and menu boards, so consumers can see what they are ordering.  The new legislation will take effect in January 2011.

New Jersey Budget

This month brought the end of the Corzine era, when Governor Chris Christie was sworn in on January 19th.  With the new administration in Trenton facing a multi-billion dollar deficit in the state budget, your Advocacy team will remain vigilant to protect important cancer programs, including the NJ CEED program (which provides low-income, uninsured New Jerseyans with breast, cervical, prostate and colorectal cancer screenings), tobacco control program, and state cancer plan.  We will need the help of all staff and volunteers to protect these key programs, and will keep you informed throughout the budget process, so stay tuned.....

Atlantic City Casinos

 While the city council has not moved to lift its moratorium on the 100% smokefree law, we are working to push the State Legislature to act.  A 100% smokefree gaming proposal was introduced in both houses as Trenton's new legislative session began, setting the stage for future action.

---------------------------------------------

New York Budget - Tobacco Tax!

 New York Gov.  David Paterson  proposed a $1.00 increase to the state's cigarette tax in order to both raise needed revenue and curb smoking.  We  strongly support this proposal and believe that it would reduce the number of youth smokers by around 10% and raise more than $150 million in new annual revenue for health care programs.   We are backing his budget proposal  to restore $8.3 million previously cut from New York's highly successful Tobacco Control Program.   And we are very encouraged by the Governor's pledge to collect the taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian retailers to non-natives.  Read Don Distasio's Press Statement.  If those taxes were collected, the benefit of a $1.00 increase would be significantly larger than projected in both dollars and in numbers of adults who will quit and kids who will never start.  

New York Budget - Cancer Services Program

Gov. Paterson has proposed consolidating health programs, including all the cancer programs in the Executive Budget Proposal.  This amounts to a cut of about $1 million on a base of roughly $27 million, though top DOH officials assure us that they will focus on protecting key direct services such as screening.  We are continuing to work through our Save Cancer Screening Coalition to support the screening program, and to ensure existing funds are spent wisely.  The Coalition will present testimony at the health budget hearing on February 9 in Albany, ideally with a survivor who has been helped through the program.

New York Legislation

This month the State Assembly passed the Family Health Care Decision Act, which would enable a patient's family member - including his or her domestic partner - to make health care decisions when the patient is not able to do so.  We strongly support the bill, and are urging the State Senate to act soon to send the bill to the Governor's desk.  Read our bill memo.

A new statewide calorie posting bill was reintroduced in the Senate by Senator Duane, Health Committee chair, and ACS's Kris Kim provided testimony in favor at a NYC hearing.  This year's bill does not include preemption of stronger local laws, as did the previous iteration.  The Governor also proposed a special excise tax on sugar sweetened beverages, which are a major contributor to the obesity epidemic.  The ACS agrees with the need to reduce that consumption, especially by children and teens, though we do not have a specific policy at this point on the tax issue.

 

Finally, legislation was introduced in the State Assembly banning the sale of flavored tobacco products, based on a similar law passed last year in New York City.  We are supportive, and close to identifying a sponsor in the Senate. 

 

Please don't hesitate to contact me and/or the regional advocacy director if you have questions or would like additional information about any of the above.  More detailed information and more recent updates are always available at www.acscan.org/newyork and www.acscan.org/newjersey. 

 

Peter

 



New York Updates

ACS CAN provides this webpage for the convenience of the American Cancer Society.
Unless specifically noted otherwise, the Society, and not ACS CAN, is conducting the activities described on this page.