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The Importance of Advocacy
"The risk of not getting involved is that the most expert voices will not be heard. And then, the policies we have to live with won’t reflect what we know is best for our patients." Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO ASCO Chief Executive Officer |
NH Senate committee recommends making Medicaid expansion permanent
Vermont Fertility Preservation
H369 - An act relating to health insurance and Medicaid coverage for fertility-related services
VT S63 - An act relating to health insurance and Medicaid coverage for fertility-related services
NNECOS - ASCO Joint Comment Letter - VT S63
Federal Issues Impacting Cancer Care
- Expand Telehealth Flexibilities and Increase Access for Patients - ask your lawmakers to support the Telehealth Modernization Act. (To learn more, read ASCO's comments to Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health hearing: Charting the Path Forward for Telehealth
- Increase Funding for Cancer Research - Urge Congress to prioritize robust funding for the NIH and NCI for FY 2022
- Streamline the Prior Authorization Process to Stop Delays in Care - Take action and urge your lawmakers to support H.R. 3173!
- Support Emergency Relief Funding for America’s Research Enterprise - Please take a moment and ask your lawmakers to cosponsor this important legislation!
- Protect Patients from Step Therapy Practices - Please take a moment and ask your lawmakers to support the Safe Step Act!
2023 State Legislative Tracker is Live
(ASCO has transitioned its bill tracker to 2023, including all carry over bills. The tracker updates in real time and the link is available to both ASCO members and nonmembers. ASCO tags legislation relevant to cancer care—including prior authorization, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), step therapy, copay accumulators, fertility preservation, telemedicine, Medicaid expansion, and vaccines.
Current State Advocacy
Maine - LD 1539
Maine Copay Fertility Preservation Bill Becomes Law
As session has adjourned, Governor Janet Mills signed Maine LD 1539, a bill providing
coverage for fertility preservation services for patients with cancer. With her signature,
Maine becomes the twelfth state to provide this coverage, with the law taking effect in 2024.
Maine House Bill 1539 - Update 4/25/22 - sent to Governor Mills!
NNECOS and ASCO support important fertility preservation legislation in Maine. Select the thumbnail to read the letter sent to the Joint Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance & Financial Services in the Maine Legislature.
Update: On May 21, 2021, a request was submitted to carry over HB1539 to next year.
5/7/22 - LD 1783 becomes law without signature as Governor Mills declined to sign or veto the measure.
Maine joins Washington as the 2nd state to pass a copay accumulator elimination bill this year.
4/25/22 - sent to Governor Mills!
1/10/22 - NNECOS and ASCO send letter of support to Joint Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services regarding LD 1783: An Act To Require Health Insurance Carriers and Pharmacy Benefits Managers To Appropriately Account for Cost-sharing Amounts Paid on Behalf of Insureds.
Dr. Marie Wood (current NNECOS President), Dr. John Winters (NNECOS President-elect) and Dr. John Hill (past NNECOS President) participated in ASCO’s Virtual Advocacy Summit April 14, 2021, representing Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, respectively. Meeting with staffers from each of the Senate and Congressional offices, these NNECOS Board designees lobbied for support of our cancer patients in three legislative efforts under consideration:
- Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 1332/S.368), which would permanently remove the geographic and originating site restrictions for use of telehealth in Medicare, allowing more patients and providers to continue to benefit from telehealth after the end of the public health emergency.
- Safe Step Act (H.R. 2163/S. 464), which would create exceptions to potentially harmful step therapy protocols from private insurance plans so patients would be able to receive appropriate and timely care. This is an especially important piece of legislation for cancer patients who often require (and deserve) a personalized approach to the management of this devastating disease.
- Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act (H.R. 869/S.289), which would provide $25 billion in emergency supplemental funding for a number of research agencies, including $10 billion for the NIH. More specifically, this would help close the widening gap that currently exists between R01 grant applications (the foundation of our national cancer research effort) and existing NCI funding, which currently covers only 10% of this important demand.
Each of these NNECOS participants welcomes the opportunity to serve as a resource for Senate and Congressional offices on any issues related to cancer, and they look forward to continued dialogue in the future.
Northern New England Clinical Oncology Society
P.O. Box 643
Sandown, NH 03873-0643
Telephone (603) 887-1948
info@nnecos.org
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