Cancer should never be a partisan issue. Regardless of who wins the upcoming presidential election, both the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) and the Cancer Moonshot should and must be saved and supported.
Both of these entities have helped millions of Americans and side-stepped political parties almost entirely. But politics being what they are, both of these dynamic, life-affirming projects are in real danger of being scrapped.
We are not a partisan magazine. But getting rid of either of these hugely successful initiatives would be a monumental mistake. As a three-time survivor of stage IV cancer, I support what they are doing for patients.
The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare)
Despite the early rancor, we now thankfully have an accessible and historic healthcare program that has helped millions of Americans get health insurance, including cancer patients.
As you may recall, the late Arizona Sen. John McCain shocked the world with his late-night thumbs-down vote which halted his party’s effort to overturn a major Democratic achievement — the signature achievement, in fact, of Barack Obama, the man who beat him to become president.
From that moment forward, McCain’s vote made President Donald Trump an adversary. But looking back now, it is amazing that this healthcare initiative was so controversial.
The ACA continues to evolve and work for more Americans, including many people with cancer. It is arguably the best and most successful piece of health legislation ever passed in this country. Getting rid of it would be a crime. More than 45 million people are currently enrolled in Marketplace or Medicaid expansion coverage under provisions of the ACA, the highest total on record, according to Health and Human Services.
The ACA has helped reduce the number of people without health insurance and increased access to care for people with cancer. It has enhanced premium subsidies that could help up to 560,000 non-elderly people with cancer save on health insurance premiums.
The ACA also covers 10 essential health benefits, including mental health and prescription drugs, and it covers young people up to age 26 on their parent’s health plans. Despite all of that, the ACA could be on the chopping block depending on who wins this election.
The Cancer Moonshot
During his 2016 State of the Union Address, President Obama called on Vice President Biden to lead a new, national “Moonshot” initiative to eliminate cancer as we know it. This was Biden’s baby from the get-go.
Since then, the Cancer Moonshot has been responsible for multiple positive actions across the federal government and from the public and private sectors, building a strong foundation for the work ahead.
Among the supporters of the Moonshot are the American Cancer Society (ACS) and its nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
When the Moonshot was boosted two years ago, AMA said in a public press release, “We are excited to support and advance President Biden’s reignition of the Cancer Moonshot initiative to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years.”
The organization added, “We know that individuals with cancer and their families can’t wait. We stand ready to join the efforts of Cancer Moonshot and continue our work to improve the experiences of people with cancer and their loved ones. Together, we can end cancer as we know it.”
Don’t Take This Away
It would be nothing less than a crime to dump this initiative, which has never been about politics. Cancer touches virtually everyone’s life at some point. The Moonshot has been a terrific addition to American healthcare.
When the Bidens reignited the enterprise two years ago, the main goal was to reduce the cancer death rate in the United States by at least half—preventing more than 4 million cancer deaths—by 2047, and improving the experience of people who are touched by cancer.
As part of this effort, Biden and Vice President Harris secured bipartisan Congressional support to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to generate breakthroughs in ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer and other diseases.
In its first two years, ARPA-H invested more than $400 million to fast-track progress on how we prevent, detect, and treat cancer. Among the many other things that the Cancer Moonshot is expanding are immunotherapy’s benefits. Immunotherapy is one of the most promising new cancer treatments, and the Moonshot is focused on moving it forward.
This Work Must Continue
For now, the Cancer Moonshot is still up and running. It continues to bring renewed leadership to the fight against cancer, facilitates new collaborations, and drives progress across the entire cancer journey utilizing all facets of the oncology community.
That includes federal agencies and departments, private companies, healthcare providers, patient groups and philanthropies, for all Americans.
After Biden announced that he was bowing out of the presidential race, he said he would “keep fighting for my Cancer Moonshot.” And he has. We know he will fight for it. But at the end of the day, the fate of this tremendous initiative will likely hinge on who wins this election.
Danielle Carnival, Deputy Assistant to the President for the Cancer Moonshot and Deputy Director for Health Outcomes at the Office of Science and Technology Policy, told Breaking Cancer News:
“Thanks to the President and First Lady’s leadership, the Biden Cancer Moonshot has made incredible progress during this Administration – including more than 100 new actions, programs, and policies from the federal government across the first-ever Cancer Cabinet and from more than 200 private companies, nonprofits, academic institutions, and patient groups.”
She added, “We have worked with advocates and experts from around the world to urgently drive innovation to prevent, detect, and treat cancer and ensure those advances reach more people. There’s a lot more work to do, and together we can end cancer as we know it.”
