Cancer Updates (Good) - Insurance Circus (Bad)
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Happy Monday Advocates
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Cancer Updates
I’ve mentioned previously that my family has a fair share of cancer victims. A number of my friends also have cancer and so every once in a while it is good to see news that is hopeful.
Treating Cancer - Advances
According to the World Economic Forum cancer kills about 10 million people yearly. Breast, lung, and colon cancer are the most common.
Quicker Treatment
England’s National Health Service has found an effective 7 minute injection that is replacing the hour-long infusions of Atezolizumab or Tecentriq used to treat lung and breast cancer for about 3600 patients in the UK.
Way Early Heads-Up for Lung Cancer
Lung cancer kills more people in the US yearly than the next three deadliest cancers combined. It's notoriously hard to detect the early stages of the disease with X-rays and scans alone. However, MIT scientists have developed an AI learning model to predict a person's likelihood of developing lung cancer up to six years in advance via a low-dose CT scan. Trained using complex imaging data, 'Sybil' can forecast both short- and long-term lung cancer risk, according to a recent study. "We found that while we as humans couldn't quite see where the cancer was, the model could still have some predictive power as to which lung would eventually develop cancer," said co-author Jeremy Wohlwend.
CAR-T Cell Treatment
A treatment that makes immune cells hunt down and kill cancer cells was recently declared a success for leukaemia patients. The treatment, called CAR-T-cell therapy, involves removing and genetically altering immune cells, called T cells, from cancer patients. The altered cells then produce proteins called chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). These recognize and can destroy cancer cells. In the journal Nature, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania announced that two of the first people treated with CAR-T-cell therapy were still in remission 12 years on.
Precision Oncology
I’m glad this is making progress. Precise targeted personalized treatment, based on your genetic makeup. Decades ago, my mother’s oncologist said this would be the best hope. This involves studying the genetic makeup and molecular characteristics of cancer tumors in individual patients. Because precision oncology treatments are targeted – as opposed to general treatments like chemotherapy – it can mean less harm to healthy cells and fewer side effects as a result
Pancreatic/Ovarian/Bladder Cancers- Earlier Detection
Generally very deadly since it has been so hard to detect early enough to treat. When tumors are detected before spreading the 5-year survival rate is almost 60%; otherwise, the survival rate is less than 5%.
By focusing on inter cellular communication paths researchers at UCSD found that they were able to detect 95.5% of stage 1 pancreatic cancers, 73.1% of stage 1 ovarian cancers, and 43.8% of stage 1 bladder cancers. The earlier they detect the higher the likelihood of successful treatment. Link to the story.
Summary
A very long way to go but it is hopeful.
Health Insurance Shenanigans
Shenanigans is too light-hearted a word, but private insurers are planning to deliver $1.1 billion in rebates this year for overcharging for ACA plans. Here is a link to a KFF story on the subject.
The rebates are the result of insurance companies not meeting the ACA’s medical loss ratio threshold, which requires insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premium revenues (85% for large group plans) on health care claims or quality improvement activities. But Wait There’s More!!
ACA Marketplace insurers are requesting a median premium increase of 6% for 2024, according to a new KFF analysis of the preliminary rate filings. Insurers’ proposed rate changes – most of which fall between 2% and 10% – may change during the review process.
Force them to give the rebates and then they just charge more.
Ok, we know what the answer is - Universal Single Payer Health Care HR 3421. Legislators have to hear this over and over again until they think they will lose their jobs for not doing it. Action in the next paragraph.
ACTION
We all deserve an affordable healthcare system that works for all of us. Lets let our legislators know. Their email/phone are here.
Let’s let them know we are fed up with insurance companies overcharging, being forced to give rebates, and then just raising the rates again next year. Of course, HR 3421, the improved Medicare For All bill, will cover all of us, cradle to grave, cost less, and allow all prescriptions to be negotiated not just 10 this year.
Here is a sample script or you can send the message below to your representatives by texting SIGN PTLLDV to 50409
I am your constituent I know that we all want and deserve affordable healthcare that works for all of us. I just learned that insurance companies that sell ACA policies have been overcharging this year and will be forced to rebate about $1 billion that they should not have collected. But they are seeking insurance premium increases from 2% to 6% for next year. I am calling on you as my elected representative, my voice in Washington, to co-sponsor and enact HR 3421, the improved Medicare For All Act, so that we are all covered, cradle to grave for far less than we pay now ACCORDING TO THE 2020 Congressional Budget Office. Thank you.
RESOURCES
Healthcare Advocacy (Us)
Website
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare
Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Find My Elected Officials
Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact State and Federal Representatives
https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/addr/
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Plan
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Re: Health Insurance Shenanigans
Alan, with four simple words, you made my head explode. Figuratively. Brains splattered all over the ceiling. No, I am not meshuga. Well, only a little. The four words: "But wait, there's more!"
In 1973 I got my first job as a copywriter in a Providence, RI ad agency. The copy chief was Arthur Schiff, a talented guy with deep intellect. I stayed two years and learned a lot from Arthur. Later in the 1970s Arthur left the agency to join Dial Media in Warwick, RI. They created the famed Ginsu Knife direct-sales TV commercials. "But wait, there's more!" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schiff. For a time, I myself wrote direct-response commercials for another RI company in the same line of work.
Awesome memory, but that's not why I'm scraping brains off the ceiling. It struck me that Ginsu hard-sell but entertaining and amusing commercials, and those for other consumer products (remember the Ronco brand?), did a fabulous job of selling. And generating immediate consumer response. In those days, viewers had to pick up the phone.
Despite earnest and diligent efforts that you and I are both part of, the drive for Medicare for All has been stuck in neutral for a long time while Big Insurance has been eating our lunch. In the 117th Congress, M4A ended with 122 House co-sponsors. Now, in the 118th? 112 original co-sponsors and not one added since. That's sobering.
We need completely new approaches. Then it struck me: GINSU! (Thank you, Arthur, may you rest in peace.) Why aren't we making tongue-in-cheek-but-serious brief videos promoting direct action for M4A?! Head exploded. Brains all over the ceiling.
Also, a less invasive technique is being developed for early detection of colon cancer. Here’s an alternative at Mayo Clinic that is supposed to be as sensitive as a colonoscopy, and, not all insurance covers it. This technique can detect other diseases of organs in the belly. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/virtual-colonoscopy/about/pac-20385156#:~:text=Virtual%20colonoscopy%20is%20also%20known,pictures%20of%20your%20belly%20organs.