Sen. Lisa Murkowski is, by her own office’s statements, no stranger to looking for creative federal solutions to helping Alaskans in need. There’s an important opportunity before her right now — changing circumstances for Alaskans facing metastatic breast cancer.
This year, an estimated 42,250 women and 530 men in the U.S. will die of breast cancer. Almost all these deaths — 90% — are because of metastatic disease: cancer that has spread from the breast to the bones, lungs or other parts of the body. There is no cure.
Individuals with metastatic breast cancer who can no longer work are entitled to Medicare coverage under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI); however, these patients must endure lengthy and arbitrary waiting periods for access to health care. With an average life expectancy of only three years for metastatic breast care patients, there is no time to waste.
This must change. That is why we, as advocates with the National Breast Cancer Coalition, want to see The Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act (H.R. 549, S. 663) enacted into law. This bill would waive the waiting periods and provide immediate access to those who qualify for the medication and supportive medical care they need. After all, they paid for it from every paycheck they’ve earned.
The legislation has strong bipartisan support in Congress, but our U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, have yet to sign on in support of this. I encourage them to do so immediately.
As a breast cancer survivor and advocate who was diagnosed at 34 years old and who has two young kids, I know how devastating breast cancer can be. That’s why I call on Murkowski and Sullivan to cosponsor S.663. The list of stresses that a patient endures after a metastatic cancer diagnosis is quite long. One thing a patient shouldn’t have to worry about is access to health care.
— Carey Carpenter
Alaska Advocate, National Breast Cancer Coalition
Anchorage
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