Access to Care Campaign

CBS Evening News Features Society’s Access to Care Campaign

Last night, the American Cancer Society’s access to care campaign was featured in a news segment on CBS Evening News. The segment began with the statement, “The American Cancer Society says it’s not just cancer that’s killing Americans – it’s the lack of health insurance.”

In the piece, which told the story of an underinsured Stage IV throat cancer patient in Tampa, national chief executive officer Dr. John Seffrin stated, “We’re now seeing data that more than race, or ethnicity, or socio-economic status, it’s whether someone has insurance or not that determines whether they’re going to survive their cancer disease.”

The US Census Bureau estimates that 47 million Americans lack health insurance and millions more have inadequate coverage. As a result, too many people can’t afford preventive care or screening tests – and too many end up dying needlessly of cancers that are detected too late. Many more die or are impoverished because they can’t afford the cost of their cancer care. And so we can’t help but ask, is choosing between your life and financial ruin really a choice?

That’s the question we’re posing to the American public through our access to care campaign. The Society has a long history of educating the public about opportunities to improve cancer outcomes and of moving our country to action. We plan to educate Americans about the need for greater access to quality health care, to give them a forum in which to speak out about the issue, and to urge them to take action to ensure that improving our health care system remains a top priority for presidential candidates and all of our nation’s lawmakers.

Nationwide Advertising Campaign
One of the primary strategies of the access to care initiative is an integrated nationwide television, print, online and radio advertising campaign that will run through mid-November 2007. The objectives of the ads are to increase awareness of the issue, frame the dialogue through the "cancer lens" and drive individuals to ACS to learn how they can help.

The ads are nonpartisan and do not promote a specific health care reform plan such as mandatory insurance or single-payer government coverage. Rather, they tell the stories of real people, such as Kathy from Minnesota, who faced cancer with inadequate or no health insurance; unfortunately, it’s a story that’s too common in our country. Through the ads, we’re attempting to illustrate what’s wrong with the health care system and that opportunities exist to fix it.

The three television spots will run on major national networks including NBC, ABC, CNN, Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC and BET. The print ads will be published in national magazines including U.S News and World Report, Time, Reader’s Digest and Oprah, the Magazine. - The American Cancer Society

NOTE ALSO: this week the Duluth News Tribune had a front page article on the issue of health care access, not related to cancer. This issue faces everyone who "falls through the crack" with dealing with any kind of medical issue, be it cancer or another disease. (click the link on my site to the Duluth News Tribune if you'd like to read the article. )