Letter to the editor: Support biomarker Senate Bill
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This month, volunteers for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network from all across Pennsylvania will meet with their lawmakers in Harrisburg to advocate for improved access to biomarker testing through Senate Bill 954. Currently, barriers to accessing biomarker testing exist for patients of color, individuals who are struggling economically and those who live in more rural areas. Coverage is inconsistent across insurance plans, adding to these disparities for some Pennsylvanians. Introduced by my legislator, Sen. Devlin Robinson, SB 954 aims to address those barriers and inconsistencies to ensure Pennsylvanians with cancer and other illnesses can benefit from biomarker testing and precision medicine.
Biomarker testing is a precision medicine tool that utilizes information from a patient’s own cells to help identify an individualized course of treatment. Comprehensive biomarker testing can guide patients to treatments with fewer side effects and longer survival. This game-changing resource also enables patients to avoid treatments that will likely be ineffective or unnecessary, exposure to which can impede patients’ quality of life and exacerbate the physical, emotional and economic burdens of diseases.
I am grateful that my lawmaker is a champion of this type of health policy. If his Senate colleagues would likewise support SB 954, that would contribute substantially to Pennsylvania achieving the triple aim of health care: improved outcomes, lower costs and improved quality of life. Therefore, I encourage Pennsylvanians, who have been touched by cancer or other disabling diseases to contact their lawmakers, urging them to support SB 954.
Cheryl Rampelt
Sewickley