National Breast Cancer Coalition Applauds Introduction of Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act
Critical Legislation Would End Arbitrary Waiting Period for People Eligible for Cancer Care
Washington, DC – The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) applauds the introduction of H.R. 549, The Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act, this week by Reps Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-02) and Kathy Castor (D-FL-14). The bipartisan legislation eliminates the arbitrary and onerous waiting periods for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and Medicare coverage for those with metastatic breast cancer.
NBCC is an organization that identifies problems in breast cancer and takes action to address them. The coalition has spearheaded the efforts behind this legislation for the previous three congressional sessions, and in December 2022, announced that more than 240 bipartisan House cosponsors had signed on in support of the bill. NBCC advocates aim to ensure final passage of the bill during the 118th Congress.
“For more than thirty years, NBCC advocates have fought for real solutions to ending breast cancer and ensuring survivors have quality access to care, no matter their background,” said Fran Visco, president of the National Breast Cancer Coalition. “This legislation would immediately provide relief to women and men waiting for approved benefits they are already entitled to under law.”
“We are grateful to Reps. Garbarino and Castor for their leadership to close the loophole once and for all,” Visco continued. “We stand ready to work with our partners on Capitol Hill and the many NBCC members to make certain this legislation becomes law.”
This critical legislation would waive arbitrary SSDI and Medicare waiting periods for eligible individuals with metastatic breast cancer. There is currently no cure for metastatic breast cancer, and too many individuals with this disease die waiting for their benefits.
About NBCC:
Since 1991 the National Breast Cancer Coalition’s collaboration of activists, survivors, researchers, grassroots groups, and national organizations have come together as disruptive innovators for social change. NBCC links hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of individuals from across the country into a dynamic, diverse coalition that gives breast cancer a meaningful voice in Washington, DC, and state capitals, in laboratories and health care institutions, and local communities everywhere.
