The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) recently addressed two representatives of the United States House in support of the CLINICAL TREATMENT Act. It is a legislation that will guarantee coverage of routine care costs associated with participating in an approved clinical trial for Medicaid enrollees with a life-threatening condition. Medicaid (one-fifth of the U.S. population is insured by Medicaid) is the last major payer not required to provide coverage for routine costs of clinical trial participation.

Clinical trials are especially important for blood cancer patients because it can be their best treatment option--however, this can be unavailable to patients due to financial circumstances.

"Though we are seeing remarkable progress in advancing treatments for cancer, our work is not done. More than one-third of blood cancer patients still do not survive five years after their diagnosis. That is why making clinical trials more accessible to patients is so vital for the fight against cancer. The importance of clinical trials cannot be overstated, as virtually all of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on previous clinical trials."

See the official letter here.