Anel Padilla

HLTH 432
Framing the Affordable Care Act Replacement

The Importance of Maintaining Protective Services for Cancer Survivors

Most people know someone who currently has been diagnosed with cancer or someone
who has had cancer in their lifetime. Cancer is a common disease in the lives of thousands in our
country. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that in 2013 there were an
estimated 1,559,130 new cases of cancer diagnosed in the United States and 9,626 of those new
cases are from Utah1. For many years, people with cancer and cancer survivors were denied
health care coverage because of their preexisting condition. The Affordable Care Act protects
cancer survivors from denied coverage and the outrageous cost of health care for those who have
had cancer in the past and those who are currently fighting cancer 2. As Congress and Utah
legislators consider replacing the Affordable Care Act, it is extremely important that the
vulnerable population of cancer survivor continue to receive these protective services.

Anyone at any given moment can develop cancer, and it is extremely important that these
people have the security of health treatment regardless of what stage they may be in the disease.
It is estimated that the impact of the Affordable Care Act policy changes resulted in an increase
of at least 8,400 lives saved that would have been lost to cancer in a year 3. Cancer is the leading
cause of mortality among Americans below fifteen years of age 4. Historically, the high cost of
health treatment for cancer has limited health care access to children with cancer4, but now,
childhood cancer survivors are a growing population in the United States 5. This is good news
because it means that less people are dying from cancer, but without the protective services
under the Affordable Care Act, it leaves these cancer survivors with the adverse effects of their
preexistent condition.

Under the protective services of the Affordable Care Act, young adults up to age 26 are
allowed to remain on their parents’ health plan. Young adults ages 18-25 are a historically
underinsured group that does not receive health care regularly due to the high cost of health
insurance6. As a result of the protective measure under the Affordable Care Act, studies have
shown that having health insurance is associated with an earlier stage of disease at the time of
diagnosis, increased enrollment on clinical trials and use of medical care, shorter times to
treatment initiation, and a lower mortality rate 6.
 Anel Padilla
HLTH 432
If the Affordable Care Act replacement removes the protective services for cancer
patients and cancer survivors, the mortality rate due to cancer in the United States and in Utah
will increase. Cancer survivors will be forced to pay extremely high insurance premiums or
forced to not be covered at all. Young adults will be underinsured resulting in less screenings and
diagnosing cancer in an advanced stage leading to a higher mortality rate and an increase in cost
of treatment7.

A solution to this problem can be achieved by maintaining cancer patient and cancer
survivor protection services. As Congress looks to replace the Affordable Care Act, they must
keep in mind that cancer is a common disease and that, in most cases, it is something that is not
preventable. By keeping these protective services, Americans will be able to receive health
treatment that will allow them to diagnose cancer at an earlier stage and it will result in a
decrease of deaths due to cancer.
 Anel Padilla
HLTH 432

References:
1
Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Sate Cancer Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved February 06,
2017, from https://nccd.cdc.gov/StateCancerFacts/state.aspx?state=Utah
2
The Health Care Law: How It Can Help People With Cancer and Their Families. (2013, August
22). Retrieved February 06, 2017, from https://www.cancer.org/treatment/finding-and-paying-
for-treatment/understanding-health-insurance/health-insurance-laws/the-health-care-law.html
3
PRINTZ, C. (2010). Healthcare Reform Affects Cancer on Many Fronts. Cancer (0008543X),
116(15), 3525-3526.
4
Obama, B. (2011). Proclamation 8705--National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, 2011.
Daily Compilation Of Presidential Documents, 1-2.
5
Warner, E. L., Park, E. R., Stroup, A., Kinney, A. Y., & Kirchhoff, A. C. (2013). Childhood
cancer survivors' familiarity with and opinions of the patient protection and affordable care act.
Jop, 9(5), 246-250. doi:10.1200/JOP.2013.000919
6
Parsons, H. M., Schmidt, S., Tenner, L. L., Bang, H., & Keegan, T. H. (2016). Early impact of
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on insurance among young adults with cancer:
Analysis of the dependent insurance provision. Cancer (0008543X), 122(11), 1766-1773.
doi:10.1002/cncr.29982
7
Xuesong H, Ka Zang X, Kramer M, Jemal A. The Affordable Care Act and Cancer Stage at
Diagnosis Among Young Adults. JNCI: Journal Of The National Cancer Institute [serial online].
September 2016;108(9):1-5. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed
February 6, 2017.