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

NABTC Applauds CMS Action to Improve Access to Clinical Trials

March 16, 2010

The North American Brain Tumor Coalition joined others in the patient advocacy community in commending action by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to remove barriers to Medicare beneficiaries’ participation in clinical trials.

Although there has been a policy for Medicare payment of routine patient care costs incurred in clinical trials since 2000, the policy does not include adequate protections for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. MA enrollees who participate in trials out of their MA plan have been required to pay out-of-network cost-sharing for the routine patient care costs of trials. Most of these patients, who do not have supplemental insurance, have found those costs unaffordably high and have declined to (more...)

Posted in Advocacy Positions, Brain Tumor Research

NABTC Applauds Inclusion of Clinical Trials Coverage in Senate Health Reform Bill

January 18, 2010

The North American Brain Tumor Coalition actively supported the efforts of Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to provide clinical trials coverage to patients through the health reform bill, and NABTC applauds the action by the Senate to include this provision in its reform package. The Senate provision would require health and insurance plans to pay for the routine patient care costs for those enrolled in clinical trials, in a manner consistent with coverage of those costs if the patient were receiving standard therapy outside a trial.

This provision of the Senate bill is of critical importance for individuals who wish to enroll in clinical trials, which may represent their best treatment option. Third-party coverage of trials, by removing (more...)

Posted in Advocacy Positions, Health Care Reform

NABTC Joins Advocates in Describing Elements of Health Reform Bill to Assist the Disabled

January 18, 2010

The North American Brain Tumor Coalition joined more than 100 organizations in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) that describes elements that must be retained in the final health reform bill to assist those who are in the so-called Medicare waiting period. These organizations, all supporters of the Coalition to End the Two-Year Wait for Medicare, have been a strong voice for the disabled during the health reform effort.

In its letter, the Coalition to End the Two-Year Wait for Medicare acknowledged that neither the House or Senate bill eliminates the waiting period. However, the letter applauded the House and Senate for expanding Medicaid and for providing tax credits that (more...)

Posted in Advocacy Positions, Health Care Reform

NABTC Urges Senate Approval of Brown-Hutchison Clinical Trials Amendment

December 16, 2009

The North American Brain Tumor Coalition is urging Senators to approve the Brown-Hutchison amendment to require insurance coverage of clinical trials. The bipartisan amendment, sponsored by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and offered as an amendment to the health reform bill, would require insurance and health plans to pay for the routine patient care costs that are incurred by patients who enroll in clinical trials. The amendment would ensure that patients enjoy insurance coverage for care in trials that is comparable to the coverage they would enjoy outside a trial.

The Senate is attempting to finish its work on health reform before Christmas Day, so efforts to advance the clinical trials amendment must be (more...)

Posted in Advocacy Positions, Brain Tumor Research, Health Care Reform

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

NABTC Joins Cancer Leadership Council In Urging Health Reform That Responds to Needs of Cancer Patients

July 22, 2009

The North American Brain Tumor Coalition joined its colleagues in the cancer community in writing all Members of Congress to express their support for legislation that will ensure all Americans access to health care. The Cancer Leadership Council also identified some key provisions that should be included in any reform bill. These elements are: 1) insurance market reforms to guarantee that individuals who have pre-existing conditions will nonetheless have access to health insurance, 2) protection from annual and lifetime insurance caps, 3) elimination of cost-sharing requirements for prevention and screening services, 4) protection of important coverage standards to ensure that the policies that Americans are offered provide them comprehensive care, 5) inclusion of consumer advocates in advisory panels (more...)

Posted in Advocacy Positions, General News, Health Care Reform

NABTC Presses for More Funds for NIH and for a Restoration of Funding for the Adult Brain Tumor Consortium

April 22, 2009

President Obama and Congress provided a major boost to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the biomedical researchers who depend on NIH funding by including in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or stimulus package, more than $10 billion for NIH. This funding includes contruction funds for NIH and construction funds for extramural institutions along with money for biomedical research and comparative effectiveness research. Of the $10 billion total, approximately $8.2 billion will be distributed in grants to extramural researchers.

The NABTC applauds this action, which comes after four years of virtually static funding for NIH. During this period of time, research budgets were cut and new projects were slowed or stalled. Although the stimulus (more...)

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