2023 Virginia Session Summary
Victory in the fight against cancer requires bold new public policies that promote cancer prevention, early detection of cancer, expanded access to quality, affordable health care.
News
Cancer Patient Medication
July 21, 2017
Step Therapy
Health insurance step therapy protocols can be useful to save costs and establish best practices, but when a patient has already failed on a particular treatment option or when a doctor knows the first step of the protocol will not work for a specific patient, the patients should not be forced to “fail first” before their doctor’s preferred medications are covered.
During the 2017 Texas Legislative session, ACS CAN worked with coalition partners to support passage of SB 680, which establishes exceptions to insurance step therapy requirements to protect patient access to needed treatments in a timely manner.
Medication Synchronization
Cancer patients may have multiple medications to get filled each month, often facing inflexibility on timing of refills.
During the 2017 Texas Legislative session, ACS CAN supported passage of HB 1296, a bill that allows patients to synchronize their refills, using prorated copays when needed, to reduce trips to the pharmacy and improve adherence to their treatment plan. The bill improves patient access, quality of life, and adherence to medical treatment.