The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) had an immensely impactful year of advocacy work, which is possible only with guidance and passion from our members. In partnership with the ASCO’s Government Relations Committee, five advocacy priorities were identified for the year:
- Protecting patients from ongoing drug shortages
- Fixing prior authorization
- Ensuring copay assistance counts toward patient out-of-pocket costs
- Supporting federal funding for cancer research
- Improving Medicare physician reimbursement.
During the year, ASCO worked to ensure members’ voices were heard on these priorities. This included coordinating 300 meetings with federal policymakers and 43 with state policymakers; tracking the progress of 429 state bills and 40 federal bills; holding 85 meetings with federal agencies; and joining sign-on letters with other stakeholder groups.
ASCO members also participated in person and virtually in record numbers this year. The 2023 Advocacy Summit had 144 members in attendance, and this was the first year that all 50 states and Washington, DC, were represented among the Association’s advocates on Capitol Hill. The members’ efforts continued through the rest of the year, with participants contacting lawmakers over 5,700 times through ASCO’s ACT Network.
The ASCO Association Political Action (PAC) also contributed to ASCO’s advocacy successes. The PAC facilitated 56 meetings with policymakers and supported political candidates who advance ASCO’s advocacy priorities.
The work of ASCO volunteers has influenced legislation, provided expertise to state and federal agencies, and been pivotal in sharing the oncology community’s perspective on Capitol Hill. As 2024 begins, learn more about taking action on ASCO’s cancer care priorities through the ACT Network (asco.quorum.us/action_center), ASCO Association PAC (pac.ascoassociation.org/home.aspx), and ASCO’s Advocacy Toolkit (old-prod.asco.org/get-involved/advocacy/advocacy-center/toolkit).
© 2023. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
