[August 11, 2016]

Idaho Falling Short in Cancer Fight by Not Increasing Access to Medicaid

Idaho falls short in fighting cancer and reducing death by not increasing access to Medicaid, according to an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS (News - Alert) CAN) report.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005303/en/

Idaho lawmakers have the opportunity to fight cancer and save lives by increasing access to health care through Medicaid. (Graphic: Business Wire)

How Do You Measure Up? A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality grades states on 10 cancer-fighting policies. Idaho meets recommendations in one of 10 areas and falls short in seven. In particular, Idaho falls short on increased access to Medicaid.

About 78,000 Idahoans are in the "coverage gap" - making too much money for Idaho's current Medicaid program, but not enough for tax credits to purchase private insurance. These are low-income, hardworking citizens. Sixty-eight percent of Idaho's "coverage gap" population re in households with at least one full-time worker.

"It's our friends, neighbors, family and church members delaying medical attention because they lack health insurance," said ACS CAN Idaho Government Relations Director Luke Cavener. "The sad reality is these taxpaying citizens are robbed of care simply because they don't earn enough for tax credits. Redesigning Medicaid guarantees them access to coverage for vital screenings and treatments to fight life-threatening diseases like cancer."

Increasing access to Medicaid is expected to save Idaho $173 million over 10 years. Data from a 2014 Close the Gap Idaho report on the economic benefits of Medicaid redesign reveal closing the coverage gap will drive Idaho's economy, generating more than $700 million in economic activity and creating 15,000 jobs.

"Most importantly, closing the coverage gap is estimated to save up to 179 lives each year," said Cavener. "No one should die because they can't afford health insurance."

This year, 8,120 Idahoans will be diagnosed with cancer. Many of them will be uninsured, and if lawmakers continue declining available federal funds for Medicaid, the state's taxpayers will remain paying for these uninsured individuals.

View the full report at www.acscan.org/measure.

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005303/en/

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