Poll Shows Strong, Bipartisan Support For Bill Expanding Access To Cancer Care

WASHINGTON - March 7, 2018 - PRLog -- The Coalition to Improve Access to Cancer Care (https://www.access2cancercare.org/) today unveiled polling data that demonstrates broad, bipartisan support for the Cancer Drug Parity Act (https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1409), legislation pending before Congress that would end the cost disparity for certain cancer treatments based solely on how insurers classify that medicine. H.R. 1409, co-sponsored by Representative Leonard Lance (R-NJ-07) and Representative Brian Higgins (D-NY-26) ensures that any health plan covering cancer care offer patients the same level of cost-sharing for all forms of cancer medicine.

"Bipartisan support for the Cancer Drug Parity Act has grown to 136 cosponsors, reflecting the strong momentum in Congress to pass this piece of meaningful cancer treatment legislation, said Congressman Lance.  "Support from the public is surging as well, according to this important survey data released today.  It's time for Congress to act.  Patients deserve for this disparity in coverage to end and to allow health care decisions to be based on the best information not outdated guidelines."

"The Cancer Drug Parity Act is really a common sense legislative measure that helps patients by seeing that insurance coverage for chemotherapy keeps pace with the medical advancements in treatment," said Congressman Higgins.    "Thanks to research, today for some patients, chemo can be administered through a pill taken at home vs. shots or lengthy IV treatments in a medical facility.  This bill simply and reasonably creates a level playing field, allowing patients and their doctors to choose the best treatment method, without a discrepancy in how that treatment will be covered by insurance and ultimately cost those fighting cancer."

"These poll results confirm what we have long suspected: that an overwhelming majority of Americans support legislation to modernize insurance benefits in a way that expands patients' access to the most innovative and effective cancer treatments," said Robin Levy, senior director of public policy and advocacy for the International Myeloma Foundation who chairs the Coalition to Improve Access to Cancer Care. "A wave of medical breakthroughs has fundamentally changed the way we care for cancer, but insurance coverage has not kept pace. We need Congress to pass this legislation to make sure patients can afford the cancer treatments they need and realize the benefits of this revolution in medicine."

Poll Findings:

─       70% of registered voters support the Cancer Drug Parity Act, while just 9% oppose it

─       That includes 78% of Republicans, 70% of independents and 66% of Democrats

─       77% favor the legislation because it ends the cost disparity for certain treatments, especially when only one effective medicine exists

─       76% support it because it restores the doctor-patient relationship by preventing insurers from dictating out-of-pocket costs

─       75% back the bill because it would improve patients access to new, targeted treatments

─       75% support the legislation because it reduces the burden on rural cancer patients by improving their access to medicines that can be taken at home

The Coalition to Improve Access to Cancer Care recently changed its name from the Patients Equal Access Coalition. The Coalition has helped enact legislation in 43 states and the District of Columbia to prevent insurance companies from applying different co-pays to oral cancer medicine than they do to chemotherapy or other injected treatments. But those state laws address health plans regulated at the state level, and do not apply to more than half of the country with federally regulated health coverage. The Cancer Drug Parity Act would fix this disparity for all of those Americans.

About the Coalition to Improve Access to Cancer Care:

The Coalition to Improve Access to Cancer Care is a patient-focused organization representing patients, health-care professionals, care centers and industry committed to ensuring cancer patients have equal access to all approved cancer regimes, including (but not limited to) oral and intravenous drugs, injections, surgery, radiation, transplantation, etc.  Follow us on Twitter @CancerCare4All (https://twitter.com/CancerCare4All?lang=en).