Cancer ABCs stands in opposition to the Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). Despite the many days that a small group of Republican Senators spent, behind closed doors, without any public hearings or feedback from any member of the Democratic and most members of the Republican Parties the recently announced end product closely resembles the flawed House of Representative’s American Health Care Act (AHCA).
Cancer ABCs believe that BCRA is dangerous to all patients, especially those with a serious chronic illness like cancer. Both the Senate BCRA and the House AHCA will raise costs, reduce coverage, reverse affordability protections and destroy Medicaid.
Americans would suffer from poor or no insurance and be left on their own. The end game for many poor people, if either of these Acts becomes law, would be to suffer and die. It would create a major public health debacle that would touch each and every American.
Patients without insurance or with poor insurance will not go to the hospital or seek out medical care when they need it. Minor illnesses will become major illnesses, which will ultimately cost all of us more money so because they will eventually be required to be treated in an emergency room or hospitalized. People with communicable illnesses will expose other individuals.
Cancer ABCs urges that Congress find a way to continue basic patient protections so that all Americans will be able to obtain the medical care they are entitled to receive. Patients with pre-existing medical conditions need to be protected as well as young families and seniors. Lifesaving treatments and medical care is a right that each and every American need to have protected.
Cancer Thrivers must have high quality; cutting edge and comprehensive medical care with out worrying about bankrupting their families. Both of the proposed legislations, AHCA and BCRA, fail to offer any protections. On the contrary, they guarantee that the average American will suffer and many will lose their insurance coverage.
This is not acceptable in today’s America.
Joel T. Nowak, MA, MSW wrote this Post. Joel is the CEO/Executive Director of Cancer ABCs. He is a Cancer Thriver diagnosed with 5 primary cancers - Thyroid, Metastatic Prostate, Renal, Melanoma and a rare cancer, Appendiceal Cancer.
