IMF Pushes Congress to Preserve Patient Access

On June 30, 2022, the IMF joined a large group of patient advocacy organizations in sending a letter to Congressional leaders advocating for several major issues impacting the cancer community. As stated in the letter, we specifically request Congress to pass legislation that “Permanently extends expanded subsidies in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, permanently fixes the Medicaid “coverage gap,” and enacts a cap on out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D beneficiaries.”

While all of these issues are extremely important and will positively impact patients, IMF would like to specifically highlight the importance of creating an out-of-pocket cap for Medicare beneficiaries. As you are aware, people with Medicare Part D do not have a limit or cap on what an individual might pay over the course of a year under current law. A cap on out-of-pocket costs will help ensure Medicare beneficiaries have predictability in their costs and in turn improve access to vital and life-saving medicines.

To view the letter, please click here.

IMF Joins Group Urging CMS to Protect Access to CAR T-Cell Therapies

On June 17, 2022, IMF joined with a group of likeminded organizations urging for measures that would protect access to CAR T-cell therapies, focusing specifically on the importance of patient engagement. This is in response to CMS’s request for feedback on FY2023 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule. 

To view the letter, please click here. 

ARPA-H Update

On June 22, 2022, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5585, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health Act, which would establish ARPA-H. The mission of ARPA-H is to focus on closing research gaps by funding research in high-risk and high-burden diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. ARPA-H will be modeled on the Defense Advances Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to help accelerate research. The legislation will now head to the Senate for consideration. 

To view more about this, please click here. 

Want to get involved?

Interested in learning more or taking actions about our federal and/or state priorities? Email the IMF Advocacy Team, [email protected], to find out ways you can help and make your voice heard. Find us on the Twitter and Facebook! We will be sharing the latest news on legislation and policies we are tracking. And follow @Chemoparity for updates on our fight to get oral parity passed at the state and federal levels.

We Thank Our Sponsor:

Bristol-Myers Squibb