NBCC President Fran Visco authored the following open letter to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Dear Members of the Ways and Means Committee,
How many women and men with metastatic breast cancer will have to go without the health care coverage they have earned before you will act? What are you waiting for?
Two hundred and sixty bipartisan members of Congress agree it is time to fix this egregious inequity, including two-thirds of the Ways and Means Committee. After more than eight years of building incredible support for this initiative, we deserve a credible answer to this question.
For nearly a decade, National Breast Cancer Coalition advocates have worked diligently with you to advance HR 2048, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act (MBCACA). This legislation would waive outdated and unfair Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Medicare waiting periods for eligible individuals.
The MBCACA represents a clear bipartisan opportunity—for Ways and Means members, for Committee leadership, and for members across Congress—to do the right thing on behalf of thousands of women and men who are subjected to a 29-month waiting period for care they have already qualified for and earned with every paycheck.
Eight years. Hundreds of supporting organizations (PDF). Thousands of meetings, calls, and messages to Committee leadership and members of both chambers. Two hundred and sixty bipartisan cosponsors, including nearly two-thirds of Ways and Means Committee members.
When we have asked repeatedly to see the bill included in a markup – to simply be considered in a committee session – the answer has been no … not yet … just be patient. Or no answer at all. These women and men are dying.
When you have demanded data, district specific information, and an endless list of supportive documentation for us to be taken seriously, we have delivered every time. We mobilized a massive national coalition of patients and providers, and we continually offered to collaborate with you and the bill’s sponsors to help fill any remaining gaps that would help to determine cost estimates. Data, I might add, you have direct access to.
Meanwhile, the Committee routinely marks up health legislation with few cosponsors and no finalized CBO scores.
Members of Congress advance proposals with significant fiscal implications—some exceeding $60 billion—without offsets. Against that backdrop, refusing to act on the MBCACA is truly inexcusable. Ignoring this bill is an insult to women and men fighting for their lives.
Continued silence is unacceptable. Does your name mean anything? When you sign on as a cosponsor, does it signify true support or lip service?
NBCC expects a frank discussion with you about advancing the bill without delay. Women and men with metastatic breast cancer deserve action now; what are you waiting for?
With concern,
Fran Visco
President, National Breast Cancer Coalition
