Policy Updates and Sign On Letters

We are in support of the following COVID-19 policies and sign on letters (to read the full letters please click here).

• GO2 for Lung Cancer joins the CDC Coalition and other supporting state and national organizations to urge Congress to provide at least $10 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s programs to prioritize funding for all of the activities and programs that are essential to protect the health of the American people.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer joins a broad spectrum of organizations representing laboratory, translational, and clinical researchers; other health care professionals; patients with cancer; and patient advocates in sending a letter to the Biden administration and other public health officials that highlights the importance of prioritizing patients with active cancer and survivors of cancer when administering COVID-19 vaccines.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto OVAC’s Memo to the Biden-Harris Transition Team about the coalition’s cancer priorities with a recommendation that President-elect Biden work with Congress in addressing key concerns:
  • ADDRESSING CANCER HEALTH DISPARITIES THROUGH CANCER RESEARCH AND PREVENTION
  • COVID-19 IMPACTS CANCER RESEARCH AND PREVENTION
  • UNMET DEMAND FOR GRANT FUNDING AT NCI
• GO2 for Lung Cancer joins other cancer advocacy groups in seeking assurance that the guideline adopted in Starr county, Texas will comply with all applicable federal laws by neither denying nor disparately impacting cancer patients’ rights to receive potentially life-saving treatment due to their disability, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signs onto a letter in support of the Quit Because of COVID-19 Act to ensure that all Medicaid and CHIP enrollees have access to the full array of tobacco cessation treatments at this critical time.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer joins national organizations to advocate for comprehensive health coverage in a letter to urge Congress to save jobs and promote economic recovery by prioritizing comprehensive health coverage in the next COVID-19 legislative package.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto a letter of endorsement for the Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act of 2020 (HR 7663).
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto a letter that asks Congressional leadership to address out-of-pocket (OOP) costs in Medicare Part D to help ensure Medicare patients can access their medically necessary medicines.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto a letter urging the administration (the White House Coronavirus Task Force) to reverse its decision to bypass the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention in the collection of COVID-19 patient data.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto a letter to expand access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) by providing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) the authority to waive longstanding restrictions on Medicare telehealth services and ensuring that additional types of health care providers can furnish telehealth services during the pandemic.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto a letter to Congress requesting $300 million in supplemental funding for the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute (NHLBI) to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer joined ACS CAN and national organizations in urging HHS and OCR to continue to make clear that any plan for allocating scarce medical resources during the present emergency, or any future one, ensures that all patients—regardless of underlying conditions—are equally eligible for treatment based on their current clinical presentation.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer joined ASCO on a letter to Congress, urging the inclusion of the 21^st Century Cures 2.0 Title IV Provision –addressing disparities in clinical trials and the CLINICAL TREATMENT Act in the next COVID stimulus package.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer joined national organizations in requesting funding in the next COVID Stimulus Bill to assure stalled research supported by non-profit organizations, voluntary health associations, science societies, and foundations, can resume once researchers return to their labs.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer co-led a letter to state governors. The letter request to further relax refill on prescription medications and timing limits by requiring ALL payers to allow for the provision of an emergency supply of medications to the CDC recommended up to 90 days. In addition to access, we advocate for affordability and flexibility with mail-order pharmacies and other home deliveries and to waive prior authorization and utilization management requirements.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto the National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care (NCHPC) letter to the NIH regarding COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines. The letter respectfully request the opportunity to provide evidence-based and expert palliative care content for inclusion in the NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto a Families USA Letter to ensure all individuals have access to testing and treatment, equip states, territories and localities with sufficient financial resources, support to healthcare workers and protection from high and unexpected healthcare costs.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer co-signed and co-led a letter that was sent to all 50 governors and state health directors seeking assurance that any COVID-19 triage plans developed to prepare for the possibility of insufficient resources do not discriminate against cancer patients who are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• GO2 for Lung Cancer joined other Disability and Patient Organizations on a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office for Civil Rights to call for further guidance on COVID-19 patient non-discrimination.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto a cancer community letter to Leadership on Capitol Hill and to Secretary Azar that addresses both legislative and regulatory policy issues impacting our patients during the COVID-19 crisis. The letters address oral chemo parity, 90-day supply of medications, personal protective equipment, access to care, and clinical trials.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto a letter directed to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The letter urges the office to ensure that decisions about how medical treatment is allocated are made without discriminating. It further requests the office to develop and release detailed guidance on how medical resources should be fairly allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic as soon as possible.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto a letter on “Expanded Family and Medical Leave” to urge Congress to expand eligibility for the paid family and medical leave program to include individuals determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be at high risk for adverse complications from COVID-19 and working members of their households.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer submitted joint comments to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding patient access to home infusions medications and therapies during this pandemic with COVID-19 and safe distancing compliance.  These joint comments were in follow up to the COVID-19 legislative package letter and our collaborative efforts around the urgent need for a home infusion provision.  We are pleased to see Secretary Azar’s letter to the nation’s Governors dated March 24^th, urging an “all hands on deck” approach and specifically requesting fewer restrictions to permit broader access to care in patients’ homes.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer sent a letter to Congressional Leaders with a copy to Secretary Azar (HHS) to recommend specific actions in response to the growing concerns about pre-existing conditions and disability discrimination in access to treatment during the COVID-19 crisis.
• NORD’s State-Based Policy Profiles
• GO2 for Lung Cancer joins national and state groups on a letter, during the drafting of the CARES Act (stimulus bill) to strongly urge Congress to provide direct state aid to states for fiscal relief as they respond to COVID-19.
• HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Issued Bulletin on Civil Rights Laws and HIPAA Flexibilities That Apply During the COVID-19 Emergency
• The first act – Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020. GO2 for Lung Cancer supports the initial $8.3 billion in emergency funding for federal agencies to respond to the coronavirus outbreak; development of vaccines, as well as therapeutics and diagnostics, aid in prevention, preparedness and response efforts to support state and local agencies, medical supplies, health-care preparedness, Community Health Centers and medical surge capacity as well as international support. Specifically, the $8.3 billion was divided into $7.8 billion in discretionary appropriations and $500 million for “Medicare telehealth mandatory spending to waive certain Medicare telehealth restrictions during the coronavirus public health emergency.
• The Senate then followed the House of Representatives and passed the second supplemental package knowns as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201. The act provides rapid assistance on many levels: free coronavirus testing, emergency room visits and doctor fees, establishment of paid leave and paid sick days with reimbursement to small businesses, expanded unemployment insurance, increased federal Medicaid funding, and expanded food assistance and security initiatives.
• To date, the Senate has released the third coronavirus stimulus relief proposal that Congress is working to pass any day now. This nearly 250-page bill includes direct financial help for individuals and additional funding for small businesses, financial assistance for impacted industries and efforts to bolster the health care system and our nation’s economy as well as additional provisions that addresses patient’s access to emergency treatment and care. GO2 for Lung Cancer has specifically advocated for removing limits on medication refills and pleased to see that the Senate proposed package includes emergency access to medication supplies in Medicare.
• The Haystack Project, an umbrella group of almost 70 rare, ultra-rare patient groups, including rare cancers Policy Coalition, which GO2 for Lung Cancer is a member of, sent a letter on the coalition letterhead to Congress, in urgent support to provide immediately needed relief for patients who typically rely on Medicare Part B settings of care for their infusion treatments. The letter urges Congress to include in the third COVID-19 stimulus legislation an immediately effective provision that lets patients receive Medicare-covered Part B infused medications from qualified practitioners in the safety of their homes.  The letter also addresses concerns with Sec. 4144 of the Senate package which appears to put the breakthrough therapies, gene therapies, and regenerative medicine products that predominate in the rare and ultra-rare disease space on a separate track from other innovations. The hope is to have this provision (the “Novel Medical Products”) of the draft bill removed as it makes national coverage decisions that has far-reaching implications for patients with few or no treatment options into a COVID-19 relief bill, which is not necessary; thereby delaying access and confusing providers at this critical time.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signs onto a group letter to urge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) in response to COVID-19. GO2 for Lung Cancer supports the position that a special enrollment period should be open to anyone who wishes to enroll in it without delay or limitations during this public health crisis. Additionally, we are asking the Department to take steps to ensure coverage can begin as soon as possible by educating the public about SEP through digital and television ads, including materials in multiple languages. Furthermore the letter calls on HHS to focus significant outreach and advertising efforts to employers and employees most at-risk of losing employer-based coverage.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signs onto a letter urging Congress, its Committees of Jurisdiction along with the Administration Task Forces to include provisions regarding access to medications for all people of all ages in the third legislative package addressing COVID-19. GO2 for Lung Cancer strongly supports maintaining access to medications by removing limits on refills or other efforts to ensure supply of these medications. While CMS has encouraged flexibility in Medicare and states have flexibilities through 1135 waivers to relax refill limits implementation is uneven among plans and states so the letter urges Congress and the Administration to take action to address this issue.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signs onto a group letter to Congress to Denounce Coronavirus Racism against the Asian American community. GO2 for Lung Cancer supported a group letter to urge House and Senate leadership to pass a joint resolution denouncing the racism, xenophobia, and misinformation surrounding it and ensure that violent racism and economic loss, rooted in fear and misinformation is mitigated.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer joins public health organizations on a letter to the Department of Labor requesting emergency temporary standard for infectious disease to address the coronavirus epidemic. Currently, the existing, largely voluntary guidance to protect workers from COVID-19 is insufficient. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL-CIO) has petitioned for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for Infectious Disease to immediately grant temporary standard to address the rapidly expanding epidemic of the novel coronavirus disease. GO2 for Lung Cancer supports the letter calling for an immediate mandatory federal standard for infectious disease with specific recommendations to prevent the rapid spread of the virus to health care workers, including, first responders, airline and other transportation workers, social service workers, and other public-facing workers at the forefront of exposure to the coronavirus.
• GO2 for Lung Cancer signed onto the National Health Council Charitable Organization COVID-19 Relief Letter. Given the prospective federal intervention to support the airline, travel, and other targeted industries impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. GO2 for Lung Cancer added its voice to urge Congress to also include nonprofit patient advocacy organizations within any federal aid packages or supplemental appropriations measures.