Today, the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense held a public witness hearing about funding needs for the fiscal year 2011 defense appropriations bill.  C3′s President, Carlea Bauman, testified at the hearing about the urgent need for more funding for colorectal cancer research.

Ms. Bauman thanked the Subcommittee members for including $15 million for the Department of Defense (DoD)’s Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) in the fiscal year 2010 bill and urged them to increase the level of funding for the PRCRP to $50 million in fiscal year 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, the New York Times published a special profiling 522 cancer survivors in order to highlight some of the challenges they faced after completing treatment.  The interviews share insights about life after cancer from survivors across the country.  C3 Advocate Paulette Stallone is one of the survivors featured in the article.

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As a member of the One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) we are pleased to be participating in the annual OVAC Lobby Day.  Join us in June as we head to the hill to ask Congress to increase funding for cancer research.

Important Dates:

• May 12, 2010 – Last day to submit scholarship application
• May 24, 2010 – Last day to register for OVAC Lobby Day
• May 24, 2010 – Last day to reserve a hotel room at the special OVAC rate
• June 16, 2010 – Lobby Day begins at 12:00 PM
• June 17, 2010 – Lobby Day ends at 5:00 PM

Location: The Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel (415 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC  20001)

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Follow CRCAdvocacy on Twitter for updates on the latest policy news.  Not only will we be posting the latest news, but we will also be posting tips on how you can help us in the fight against colorectal cancer.  Follow us today at http://twitter.com/CRCAdvocacy, and tell your friends to follow us too! If you’re interested in the latest updates from all of C3, then follow our main Twitter feed which is still @FightCRC.

As a first step in implementing health reform, on April 2 Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius asked state governors and insurance commissioners to work with the federal government to establish temporary high risk pools to provide affordable insurance for people with pre-existing conditions.

In a letter to governors, Secretary Sebelius laid out several options states will have to use $5 billion in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to bridge the time from July 1, 2010 until January 1, 2014 when the insurance exchanges will be available.

Coverage will need to include at least a floor set of benefits established by the federal government.  Out-of-pocket costs are limited to $5,950 for an individual, and premiums cannot be set at more than the existing standard non-group rates.  There can be no exclusion for pre-existing conditions.

Governors were asked to respond with a letter of intent by April 30, 2010.  If a state does not want to participate in the program, the Department of Health and Human Services will provide the high risk pool services to needy individuals in that state. Read the rest of this entry »