Today's guest blog comes from our new partners at the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. The word, Mesothelioma (pronounced mez-uh-thee-lee-oh-muh), is often much better known than the illness it represents. The legal issues surrounding this cancer make mesothelioma, the most expensive keyword on Google (while most keywords cost...
By Rachel Bluth, Kaiser Health News The Food and Drug Administration removed an obstacle from of its “compassionate use” policy this month, eliminating some paperwork that physicians must do to obtain experimental drugs for some patients with immediately life-threatening illnesses. Doctors will now file an application...
Understanding the legal and practical issues surrounding medical marijuana can be a bit confusing and if you look at the history of marijuana (cannabis) use and regulation in the U.S. it is easy to see why. Cannabis was considered a legal medicine in the U.S....
by Joyce Reinecke, JD,Executive Director, Alliance for Fertility Preservation The primary barrier for cancer patients seeking to preserve their fertility is cost. Sperm banking, embryo freezing and egg freezing cost thousands of dollars. Because these services are rarely covered by insurance, patients are typically left paying out of...
Triage Cancer has two new Quick Guides on advocacy topics and stay tuned for more to come. Are you interested in becoming an advocate? It’s likely that you already are! The Spectrum of Advocacy shows many of the ways that you can be an advocate in the...
The question of whether or not health care is a right or a privilege has been under discussion across the country. California has taken a step closer to health care being a right. Under SB 75, authored by California State Senator Ricardo Lara, children under the...
This past Labor Day, President Obama signed an executive order requiring federal contractors to offer workers up to seven days of paid sick time per year. For some, paid sick leave is something that is taken for granted. Most employers are not required to offer their employees...
Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States refused to take up a widely-publicized case, Szafranski v. Dunston, involving disputed embryos. Karla Dunston, a doctor, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2009. Because her treatment presented the risk of infertility, Ms. Dunston took steps to preserve...
If you can afford health insurance and have chosen not to buy it, you will pay a fee when you file your federal tax return for the year you chose not to have coverage. Called an individual shared responsibility payment, the fee is sometimes called...
By Alice Crisi For years, California advocates have struggled to secure fertility preservation insurance coverage for cancer patients. A 2013 bill even made its way to the Governor’s desk only to be vetoed because of the one penny per member per month it would cost to...