Advocacy News Briefs
FORCE advocates for families facing hereditary cancer in areas such as access to care, research funding, insurance and privacy.News Brief Archive
2023
6/6/2023 - Thanked House Ways & Means Committee leadership for its consideration of The Telehealth Expansion Act. This federal bill would ensure that individuals with high-deductible health plans and health spending accounts continue to have access to telehealth services on a pre-deductible basis.
5/16/2023 - Expressed support for H.R. 1826, the Prostate Specific Antigen Screening for High-risk Insured Men Act (PSA for HIM Act), which would waive prostate cancer screening deductibles, copays and coinsurance for those at increased risk of the disease--including those with a family history or genetic predisposition to the disease, and African American men.
5/12/2023 - Thanked the sponsors of the Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) for Cancer Act, and pledged support for the legislation, which will reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP).
4/24/2023 - Joined the Defense Health Research Consortium in letters to House and Senate committee leaders encouraging continued support for the defense health research programs funded through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the Department of Defense (DoD).
4/19/2023 - Signed on to a letter thanking the President for a proposed increase in the FY24 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) budget to support the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, helping ensure that it has the resources, staff, and processes in place to keep pace with innovation, research, and patient needs.
4/14/2023 - Joined concerned stakeholders in a letter to the CEO of UnitedHealth Group asking that a program to require prior authorization for almost all upper GI endoscopies, colonoscopies and capsule endoscopies be halted because it will result in delays for medically necessary care.
3/8/2023 - Wrote in support of California legislation that would allow at-risk patients in the state to receive prostate cancer
screening without a deductible, copayment, or coinsurance.
3/6/2023 - Joined NY Step Therapy Alliance members, writing state lawmakers in support of S.A.901, an act that will amend the rules and enforcement of step therapy protocols to better protect patients.
2/24/2023 - Signed on to a letter to congressional leadership endorsing the BENEFIT Act, legislation that would require the FDA to include how patient experience data was considered in the benefit-risk assessment framework of a new drug application.
2/9/2023 - Joined 75 orgs in a letter of support for the HELP Copays Act, which would eliminate barriers to treatment for some of the most vulnerable Americans—those who live with serious, complex chronic illness—ensuring that they can afford the medications prescribed by their providers.
1/29/2023 - Joined a letter to President Biden asking that he recognize March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and light the White House blue, the official color of colorectal cancer, to honor those lost and those fighting the disease.
2022
12/6/2022 - Joined a broad range of stakeholders to urge Appropriations leaders to pass the FY23 Omnibus spending bill, and to include boosted funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and our nation’s other research agencies.
11/28/2022 - Asked congressional leadership to include the Access to Genetic Counselor Services Act (H.R.2144/S.1450) in a year-end legislative package so that Medicare beneficiaries can better access genetic counseling services.
11/21/2022 - Joined the Defense Health Research Consortium in encouraging congressional leaders to enact the FY23 Defense Appropriations Act, to ensure full funding of the Defense Health Research Programs, including the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).
11/2/2022 - Urged congressional leaders to prioritize the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act (H.R.3183/S.1312), which eliminates waiting periods for SSDI benefits and for Medicare coverage for individuals with metastatic breast cancer.
10/6/2022 - Endorsed the PSA for HIM Act (H.R. 1176), which would waive deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance for prostate cancer screenings for those with a family history or who are African-American.
9/13/2022 - Joined hundreds of health and patient orgs in a letter to Senate leaders, urging them to ensure access to telehealth services with passage of a two-year extension of current telehealth policies, while continuing to push for a permanent extension.
9/13/2022 - Sent a letter urging Congress to pass the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA) legislation that would update Medicare’s payment system for laboratory services and foster innovation in future diagnostics.
8/12/2022 - Signed on with the National Society of Genetic Counselors and other orgs in a letter to CMS requesting that it consider inclusion of genetic counseling in the Medicare Quality Payment Program (QPP) Merit-based Incentive Payment System Inventory for Performance Year 2023 or future years.
7/11/2022 - Wrote committee leaders in the House and Senate to ask that the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) reauthorization include provisions aimed at creating equitable opportunities for clinical trial participation and improving trial diversity.
6/30/2022 - Urged Congress to address the need for cancer care affordability by passing legislation that permanently extends expanded subsidies in the ACA marketplaces, fixes the Medicaid “coverage gap,” and enacts a cap on out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries.
6/8/2022 - Joined over 70 orgs encouraging critical provisions included in Title V of the House Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) reauthorization which, if implemented, would improve diversity in clinical trials.
06/2/2022 - Asked congressional leaders to continue support and to increase funding for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the Department of Defense (DoD).
5/22/2022 - Provided feedback to the Senate HELP Committee urging changes to the VALID Act, which would reform the way lab tests are regulated. This followed a sign-on letter regarding the bill submitted the previous week.
5/11/2022 - Joined 90 orgs in a letter to House leadership urging them to include measures to improve clinical trial diversity in this year’s Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) reauthorization.
4/25/2022 - FORCE added its support to an effort spearheaded by SNMMI asking the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committee Leadership to schedule a hearing on the Facilitating Innovative Nuclear Diagnostics (FIND) Act.
4/5/2022 - Joined a coalition letter to the HHS Secretary emphasizing that regulatory reform of the framework for clinical laboratory diagnostics is essential to protect patients and ensure access to innovative, high-quality diagnostic tests.
3/29/2022 - Signed on in support of the Right Drug Dose Now (Right) Act, which will advance utilization of evidence-based pharmacogenomic (PGx) information in clinical practice, advance precision medicine, and improve quality of care.
3/3/2022 - Advocated for extending telehealth waivers beyond the public health emergency while cautioning against the inclusion of guardrails that would create access barriers to laboratory testing.
2/25/2022 - Joined nearly 100 organizations in a letter to congressional leadership supporting the reignited Cancer Moonshot initiative, highlighting the need to restart screenings and clinical trials and the importance of bipartisan support for cancer initiatives.
2/18/2022 - Wrote in support of the BENEFIT Act, which would require the FDA to include in the benefit-risk assessment framework of a new drug application how patient experience data was considered in the review process.
1/28/2022 - Submitted comments on the HHS proposed 2023 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) rule asking the administration to ensure that all copayments made by or on behalf of a patient count toward the individual's annual deductible and out-of-pocket limit.
1/27/2022 - Expressed support of Virginia HB477, which would eliminate cost-sharing for prostate cancer screening, making it more accessible for individuals in the state.
