Access to Health Care

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Every American deserves access to quality, affordable health care. From cancer screenings like mammograms and colonoscopies to the latest breakthroughs in treatment, everyone should have access to the care that could prevent cancer and save their life.  In addition, ensuring that low-income working families have access to affordable health insurance is proven to reduce overall health care costs. 

We are working in every state and in Congress to expand health care options and protect existing laws that help patients get true access to the care they need. 

People without health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at a late stage, when the disease is harder to treat, more costly and more difficult to survive.

Latest Updates

March 14, 2024
Georgia

The Georgia Senate passed H.B. 1339 today, which in part forms a health care coverage commission. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) urges Georgia lawmakers to recognize the study commission as an insufficient solution for the health care coverage gap that currently puts more than 400,000 Georgians at risk.

March 13, 2024
New York

The following was originally published in the Empire Report on March 13, 2023. Over the past few years, a disturbing trend has emerged: people are increasingly being diagnosed with cancer at younger and younger ages. Oftentimes, this means that in the middle of their careers, some patients will

March 13, 2024
Michigan

Michigan Must Do Better to Reduce the Burden of Cancer

March 12, 2024
National

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health today marked up the Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) for Cancer Act, H.R. 3916. The bipartisan legislation would reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) through 2028.

Access to Health Care Resources

Our latest survey finds that protecting no-cost screenings and preventive care and reducing the burden of medical debt are the most impotant priorities for cancer patients and survivors. This survey also explores the impacts of cancer on food and nutrition insecurity, with impacts felt across income groups and coverage levels.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) believes everyone should have a fair and just opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. No one should be disadvantaged in their fight against cancer because of income, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, or where they live. From preventive screening and early detection, through diagnosis and treatment, and into survivorship, there are several factors that influence cancer disparities among different populations across the cancer continuum.

ACS CAN partnered with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and RIP Medical Debt to conduct a national survey on the impacts of medical debt and high health care costs. Read the full results.