The American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network is holding a “lobbying day” at the state Capitol.
"What we do is make cancer a top priority in state and local governments, as well as the federal government," said Kim Kuhlmann, the North Dakota grassroots manager for the Cancer Action Network. She and the other volunteers are targeting a couple of big issues. One is a bill to make sure insurance companies treat oral chemotherapy treatments the same as traditional chemotherapy.
Ellen Schafer is a volunteer from Bismarck. She says insurance companies normally have a cap on what they will pay for oral medications.
"If a patient needs oral chemotherapy, just one dose is very expensive," said Shafer. "It can cost so much a patient can reach that cap in one dose of medication. We want insurance companies to cover this equally with i-v therapy."
The Network’s other big issue is to raise North Dakota’s cigarette taxes, as a way to help prevent young people from starting to use tobacco, and to help current smokers quit.