Free and charitable clinics ask lawmakers for continued financial support
Advocates for Illinois’ free and charitable clinics made their case this week for millions in state funding.
American Cancer Society rally to reduce cancer burden
Cancer advocates rallied in Springfield this week to call on state lawmakers to improve access to colorectal cancer screenings and to support taxing other tobacco products at an equal rate to cigarettes.
Advocates call on lawmakers to increase DSP wages
Advocates took to Springfield Wednesday to call on more support for those who work with the intellectual and developmental disability community. Several lawmakers joined members of AFSCME Council 31 to support a $2 per hour wage increase for direct service personnel. “An investment in DSP wages is an investment in improving the lives of people […]
Long COVID Patients Need Equal Access to Care and Sick Leave, Advocates Urge
Advocates, physicians, and lawmakers underscored the urgent need for paid sick leave and access to care for long COVID patients, as well as the importance of believing patients, during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing. Data gathered by the Census Bureau in early June estimated that nearly one in five American adults […]
Abortion Rights Advocates Slam New Oklahoma Law
Abortion rights advocates are decrying a law passed by the Oklahoma legislature last week that would ban all abortions in the state from the moment of fertilization, with exceptions for rape and incest only if they are reported to law enforcement. “Without abortion access at the local level, people will lose the ability to make […]
Military Exposure to Burn Pits Under Scrutiny
Doctors, scientists, and patient advocates described the tremendous harms of burn pits to active duty service members and veterans, ranging from cancers to severe respiratory illness and death, during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel on Wednesday. Subcommittee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) opened the hearing by stating that service […]
NCCN Reverses on Guideline Change for Surveillance in Prostate Cancer
After protest by urologists and patient advocates, the prostate cancer panel of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) reversed itself on Tuesday, with new guideline language restoring active surveillance (AS) as a preferred approach for “most” men with low-risk prostate cancer. In September, the NCCN panel had published guidelines that eliminated the word “preferred” for […]
Leana Wen Discusses Patients’ Different Priorities, Bad COVID Policies
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Leana Wen, MD, MSc, has been one of public health’s most vocal advocates, offering smart analysis and calling out problems with the federal response. One of the most significant contributors to U.S. pandemic failures, she said, has been the prolonged devaluing of public health. That’s part of the reason Wen set […]
FDA Must Act Quickly on Menthol Ban to Save Black Lives, Advocates Argue
Tobacco control advocates argued that the FDA must act swiftly to ban all menthol products and address the “pernicious targeting” of Black smokers, during an online briefing hosted by the Alliance for Health Policy and sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on Wednesday. “We look at menthol as a human rights and a social […]