Policy Comments

The priority legislative and regulatory issues that the Cancer Policy Institute focuses on are driven by policy pillars that are centered around the values, needs, and preferences of individuals impacted by cancer. We work in conjunction with patients, patient advocacy organizations, medical associations, and other stakeholders to advance policies aimed at improving access to, affordability of, and quality of care across the cancer continuum.

Group letter urging CMS to expand access to telehealth services for Medicaid beneficiaries. Recommendations include: updating prior telehealth guidance to states to better communicate provider enrollment requirements, identify where states have authority to modernize, and provide enrollment requirements, reduce regulatory and administrative burden, and enhance Medicaid provider networks.

Access to Affordable, Comprehensive Care, Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Health Insurance Coverage, Telehealth

Group letter to CMS encouraging CMS to utilize its existing authorities to continue to collect and publish important data surrounding Medicaid unwinding. In addition, the letter requests that the data be disaggregated by race and ethnicity, and that CMS works with states to stratify the data and make it publicly available.

Health Equity, Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Health Insurance Coverage

Coalition letter supporting the passage of the Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) for Cancer Act. Passage of this legislation would reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), improving the rate of cancer screenings across communities leading to more people being screened, leading to ore cancers being diagnosed at earlier stages, and ultimately better outcomes for patients.

Access to Innovative Treatment, Public Health

Group letter urging the passage of a comprehensive PBM legislation package that includes the Safe Step Act (S 652/ HR 2630). The inclusion of the SSA is vital to ensuring timely consumer access to medically necessary treatments.

Access to Affordable, Comprehensive Care, Utilization Management

Group letter expressing concerns with recent timeline changes to NTAP and providing recommendations to maintain NTAP's role of improving patient access to new technologies in the inpatient setting. The coalition letter recommends that CMS reverses course and reimplements the original approval timeline of 3 years for NTAP and provides a grace period or waiver of the new requirement for a complete and active FDA marketing application authorization for the first year of implementation.

Access to Innovative Treatment, Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Health Insurance Coverage

Group letter urging House leadership to move the Telehealth Expansion Act of 2023, which the House Ways & Means Committee advanced on a bipartisan basis earlier this year. This legislation would ensure that crucial telehealth flexibilities continue on a permanent basis beyond the 2024 extension, protecting millions of Americans with employer-sponsored coverage from losing access to pre-deductible coverage of telehealth services.

Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Health Insurance Coverage, Telehealth

Group letter in support of the District Court's decision to vacate the 2021 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters, which previously allowed commercial market healthcare plans to implement copay accumulator adjustment policies, creating barriers to access of necessary care.

Access to Affordable, Comprehensive Care, Copay Accumulators, Utilization Management

Group letter in support of District Court's recent decision to vacate the provision of the Trump-era 2021 Notice of Benefits and Payment Parameters (NBPP) allowing commercial market health plans to implement so-called “copay accumulator adjustment policies.”

Copay Accumulators, Utilization Management

Group letter outlining comments and recommendations regarding the implementation of the MP3 to increase accessibility, transparency, and equity of coverage.

Health Equity, Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Health Insurance Coverage, Out of Pocket Costs

Group letter commenting on the patient illness navigation (PIN) and community health integration (CHI) provisions of the CMS Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), recommending reimbursement of such services under Medicare.

Access to Affordable, Comprehensive Care, Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Health Insurance Coverage, Patient Experience