NABTC Agenda for Action 2010; Join the Coalition for Advocacy Activities in DC or at Home

April 22, 2010

The members of the North American Brain Tumor Coalition will be in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, May 4, to meet with their Senators and Representatives. During those important Congressional visits, the Coalition advocates will be pressing Congress to take several important actions. First, the NABTC will advocate an increase in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to a level of $35 billion in fiscal year 2011. Second, the Coalition will urge Congress to engage in active oversight of implementation of health reform, to guarantee that the promise of the new health care program is realized. Third, the Coalition will ask for champions for a brain tumor awareness resolution, aimed at increasing lawmaker and public awareness of (more...)

Posted in Action Items, Advocacy Positions, Brain Tumor Action Week, Headlines

North American Brain Tumor Coalition Outlines Brain Tumor Research Funding Priorities

April 8, 2010

In a statement submitted to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, North American Brain Tumor Coalition Chair Joseph Fay outlined the Coalition’s fiscal year 2011 priorities for funding brain tumor research.

The Coalition endorsed the recommendation of the biomedical research community that National Institutes of Health funding be boosted to $35 billion in fiscal year 2011 and outlined specific brain tumor funding priorities that should be funded from that total.

In his statement, Mr. Fay urged a long-term commitment to basic, translational, and clinical research on brain tumors but also reminded the subcommittees of the urgent need for new brain tumor treatments and the necessity to accelerate the development of new therapies (more...)

Posted in Advocacy Positions, Brain Tumor Research, General News, Headlines

Health Reform Bill Signed Into Law; Several Provisions Will Assist Americans with Brain Tumors

April 7, 2010

President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law (Public Law 111-148) on March 23, 2010. This followed a long weekend of work by the House of Representatives that ended with approval of the health care bill by a vote of 219 to 212. This bill had been approved by the United States Senate on December 24, 2009.

One week later, on March 30, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, which included a number of health-related financing and revenue changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

With the President’s signature on these two pieces of legislation, the process begins to implement an insurance (more...)

Posted in General News, Headlines, Health Care Reform

Register NOW for Brain Tumor Action Week!

April 2, 2010

Please join the North American Brain Tumor Coalition and its friends in Washington, D.C. for Brain Tumor Action Week. On Monday, May 3, we will hold a full-day education day. On Tuesday, May 4, we will make visits to Members of Congress.

Join your friends in the brain tumor community in pressing for federal funding for brain tumor research and implementation of health reform to help uninsured brain tumor patients.

To register, please use the form at http://www.nabraintumor.org/registration10.html.

Posted in Action Items, Brain Tumor Action Week, General News, Headlines

Register Now! Brain Tumor Action Week in DC on May 3 and 4

March 16, 2010

Please join the North American Brain Tumor Coalition and its friends for Brain Tumor Action Week in Washington, D.C. On Monday, May 3, the Coalition invites you to an education day, featuring a program focusing on brain tumor research and care and including training for advocacy visits to Congress. On Tuesday, May 4, advocates will meet with their Representatives and Senators to discuss policy issues of importance to the brain tumor community.

We’ll be pressing Congress to fund the National Institutes of Health generously, continue a Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program at the Department of Defense that supports pediatric brain tumor research, and ensure a strong and coordinated brain tumor research program at the National Cancer Institute and National Institute (more...)

Posted in Brain Tumor Action Week, Headlines

NABTC Identifies Essential Elements of Health Care Reform for Brain Tumor Patients

September 28, 2009

The North American Brain Tumor Coalition is closely monitoring the current deliberations of the Senate Finance Committee on its health reform bill and will remain vigilant during the remainder of the legislative process to protect the interests of brain tumor patients.

Individuals with brain tumors sometimes find that they cannot purchase health insurance at the time they most need it, and even those with insurance may face crippling financial burdens due to high out-of-pocket costs. Even though brain tumor care in the United States can be outstanding, it is not necessarily available to all who need it. To improve brain tumor patients’ access to care, the NABTC supports a strong health reform package.

As the Congress returned to (more...)

Posted in Advocacy Positions, Headlines, Health Care Reform

NABTC Articulates Principles of Quality Care for Brain Tumor Patients

July 22, 2009

The North American Brain Tumor Coalition has joined with other patient advocacy organizations in pressing Congress to approve health care reform that will ensure all Americans access to quality care. The Coalition has also developed and circulated to policy-makers a set of principles for quality care for brain tumor patients.

Receiving a diagnosis of a brain tumor is the beginning of a difficult journey for brain tumor patients, and the health care system is often not responsive to the needs of those patients. The Coalition has outlined the needs of brain tumor patients and will be working to ensure that a reformed health care system is responsive to these needs.

The NABTC document, Principles of Quality Care for Brain (more...)

Posted in Advocacy Positions, General News, Headlines, Health Care Reform