American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Slams “Skinny” Repeal As Devastating for Cancer Patients and Survivors

Advocacy Group Calls for Bipartisan Process to Address Health Care

(Nashville, Tennessee) – Today, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), one of the nation’s largest cancer advocacy groups, released a statement outlining the organization’s concerns about the GOP’s so-called “skinny” health care repeal plan, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would cause 15 million Americans to lose their health care coverage.

The full ACS CAN statement reads as follows:

“The continuing effort by Senate leaders to figure out by trial and error some bill that might gain the needed 50 votes to pass is a threat to millions of Americans including cancer patients and survivors who must have comprehensive coverage in order to access prevention and medical treatment.

“Critical patient protections in the current health care law that ended discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions, eliminated annual and lifetime benefit limits, and guaranteed minimum essential coverage will not be sustainable if the provisions reported to be in the “skinny” repeal bill are enacted into law. The legislation could cause the individual insurance market to collapse putting millions of American families at financial risk.

“Having access to adequate, affordable health insurance is essential to our nation’s ability to continue reducing death and suffering from cancer. Senate leaders in charge of this process need to consider the impact of their actions on the nation. Once again, we urge both parties to put aside their differences to work on a health care bill that helps people instead of hurting them.”

This is not the first time ACS CAN has come out against GOP efforts to repeal health care. Earlier this month, the organization strongly criticized a previous Senate health care bill and joined other health advocacy groups to release ads calling on Senators to vote no on repealing the Affordable Care Act. In June, they wrote letters to governors urging them to voice their concerns to Congress to ensure that cancer patients and survivors “have access to uninterrupted and meaningful health care coverage,” which is “critical in the effort to eliminate death and suffering from cancer.”