APHON Joins Congressional Endorsement Letter for the CLINICAL TREATMENT Act
October 27th, 2020
The Honorable Ben Ray Lujan
United States House of Representatives
2231 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Gus Bilirakis
United States House of Representatives
2112 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Richard Burr
United States Senate
217 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Benjamin Cardin
United States Senate
509 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Congressman Lujan, Congressman Bilirakis, Senator Burr, and Senator Cardin,
On behalf of the Alliance for Childhood Cancer, we are writing to offer our endorsement of H.R. 913/S. 4742, the CLINICAL TREATMENT Act. Thank you for your leadership in the fight to increase access to potentially life-saving clinical trials and for acknowledging the importance of clinical trial participation for patients with serious diseases, like cancer.
Children with cancer face unique health care concerns and often do not have the same access to FDA-approved treatments as adults. In many cases, clinical trials provide pediatric patients with the best or only treatment option available and appropriate for their condition.
Medicaid and CHIP are central sources of health care coverage for children in the United States, together they cover about 40% of children in this country. In 2014, Medicaid covered over 36.1 million children and continues to improve children’s access to health care services across the country. Unfortunately, Medicaid is the only large insurer that does not guarantee coverage for routine care costs associated with clinical trial participation. Both private insurance and Medicare plans guarantee that coverage at the federal level.
The CLINICAL TREATMENT Act would ensure that all routine care costs of clinical trial participation are covered for Medicaid enrollees with life-threatening conditions, like cancer.
Routine care costs include the non-experimental costs of treating a patient who is participating in a clinical trial, such as the cost of laboratory tests, supportive care, or physician office visits.
These costs are part of the standard of care and would be incurred regardless of whether a patient participates in a clinical trial.
As you know, clinical trials are a crucial component in our nation’s progress toward better treatment and outcomes for patients with cancer. Research in pediatric cancer suggests that more than 75% of children diagnosed with cancer will become long-term survivors—this amazing progress in treating pediatric cancers is a direct result of high participation rates in clinical trials across the country. The CLINICAL TREATMENT Act will help ensure children are able to continue accessing these potentially life-saving treatments.
Thank you for your support and leadership on behalf of children with cancer. We look forward to working with you to pass the CLINICAL TREATMENT ACT.
Sincerely,
The Alliance for Childhood Cancer
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for Cancer Research
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Childhood Cancer Organization
American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation
Association for Clinical Oncology
Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses
Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers
Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation
Children’s Cancer Cause
CureSearch for Children’s Cancer
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation
National Brain Tumor Society
Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation
Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research
Sarcoma Foundation of America
St. Baldrick’s Foundation
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
2318 Mill Road Alexandria, VA 22314 | alliance@asco.org | www.allianceforchildhoodcancer.org