Ensuring Medicaid is available and stable long-term

Protecting and improving the Medicare program for blood cancer patients.

As the nation’s public health insurance program for low-income children, adults, seniors, and people with disabilities, Medicaid covers 1 in 5 Americans. That includes more than 2 million adults and children with a history of cancer. In fact, 1 in 3 kids who are diagnosed with cancer are covered by Medicaid. Research has demonstrated that cancer patients who experience disruptions in Medicaid coverage are more likely to have advanced stage disease and worse survival rates than patients without disruptions. Medicaid also plays an important role in addressing health disparities.

Medicaid provides health coverage to over half of children who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, other or multi-racial, or Latino.

That’s why it is critical that both state and federal policymakers act to protect and improve the Medicaid program.

Expanding Medicaid to more patients

Medicaid coverage remains out of reach for 2.2 million people living in 12 states where lawmakers have decided not to expand access to Medicaid. Earning less than about $17,000 each year, these individuals have little to no access to affordable health insurance, and as a result, most of them are forced to go without coverage. Six in ten of the people who fall into this “coverage gap” are people of color.

Tearing down barriers that block access to Medicaid

Ensuring that Medicaid can continue to provide critical coverage for cancer patients means defending against efforts to reduce coverage or create barriers to enrollment.