Today is National Health Care Decisions Day and we would like to highlight the importance of advance planning for everyone. Waiting until being diagnosed with a serious medical condition, like cancer, can make advance planning more difficult, especially facing issues of mortality. But creating a plan...
How many cancer patients or cancer care professionals are aware of the discipline of cancer patient navigation? Unfortunately, not many patients and health care professionals know about this emerging role in patient advocacy. Patient navigation is defined by the National Cancer Institute as a “community-based service...
Federal Update: Individual Mandate Data: IRS data shows that the number of people paying individual mandate penalties has been dropping. This is the penalty that you pay if you do not have health insurance coverage. In 2015, 6.67 million taxpayers made individual mandate penalty payments...
Over the past week, there have been many news stories related to changes to our health care system that have a significant potential impact on the cancer community. Here are a few highlights . . . National News: ACA Ruled Unconstitutional: Those of you who have...
Did you know that only 16 percent of workers in the U.S. receive paid family leave through their employment? Believe it or not, the United States is the only industrialized country that does not guarantee workers some form of paid leave. Currently, the only option at...
Table Of Contents: What are Death with Dignity Laws? Death with Dignity Law Requirements How does it benefit individuals with cancer? States that allow Death with Dignity Acts Advocating for Death with Dignity People with life-threatening medical conditions, such as cancer, may face difficult end-of-life choices....
While the digital age has led to many advancements and positive resources for the cancer community, it has also created some additional things to think about, such as disclosure and privacy concerns. The accounts that we create online are also something that we own; they...
We are often asked about how to qualify for Medicare, so we thought that we would share information about the four parts to Medicarecoverage. Today, we’ll be covering how to qualify for Medicare Part A and ways to access premium-free Medicare Part A coverage. What is...
There are a number of proposals to expand access to coverage, to try to ensure that every American has access to health insurance coverage. One of those methods for expansion of coverage, is making more people eligible for Medicaid. The Affordable Care Act (ACA or...
These are just a few highlights of topics at the national and state levels that may have a significant impact on the cancer community. National News: Trouble for Rural Hospitals:Dozens of rural hospitals have already closed nationwide this decade. A new report finds that an estimated...