Learn. Speak. Act
International recording artist and poet, Michael "MIKE-E" Ellison


Access to Care 101
Learn more about the access to health care issue, why it matters, and what the Society is doing about the problem.


Access to Care 201
This video illustrates the importance of providing access to health care for the uninsured and undersinsured and what the American Cancer Society is doing to help. It addresses some of the questions that have arisen since the organization's campaign began in September 2007.

General Facts

In 2006, 47 million people were without health insurance coverage, up from 44.8 million people in 2005.
[Source: DeNavas-Walt C, Proctor BD, Smith, J. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2007]

25% of people reported that they used up all or most of their savings dealing with cancer.
[Source: USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Cancer Survey (conducted August 1-September 14, 2006)]

27% of people that were ever uninsured reported that they/their family member delayed or decided not to get care for cancer because of the cost.
[Source: USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Cancer Survey (conducted August 1-September 14, 2006)]

In 2006, annual insurance premiums for employer provided coverage averaged $4,242 for individuals and $11,480 for families.
[Source: Kaiser/HRET 2006 Employer Health Benefits Survey]

Among those with insurance, 23% of people said they/their family member had an insurance plan that paid less than expected for their medical bills.
[Source: USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Cancer Survey (conducted August 1-September 14, 2006)

Nationally, fewer than half (47 percent) of parents in families earning less than $40,000 a year are offered health insurance through their employer—a 9 percent drop since 1997.
[Source: National Health Information Survey, 1997 and 2005]

51% of people think cancer is the most important disease or health condition the government should address.
[Source: Harvard School of Public Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Americans’ Views of Public Health, April 2006]

The number of uninsured children increased from 8 million (10.9 percent) in 2005 to 8.7 million (11.7 percent) in 2006.
[Source: DeNavas-Walt C, Proctor BD, Smith J. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2007]

33% of families report a problem paying their cancer bills.
[Source: USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Health Care Costs Survey (conducted April 25-June 9, 2005)

Comparing three-year average uninsured rates for 2004-2006 among states shows Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured people—24.1 percent—and Minnesota has the lowest rate of uninsured people—8.5 percent.
[Source: DeNavas-Walt C, Proctor BD, Smith, J. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau; 2007]

One-third of all Americans and two-thirds of low-income Americans are uninsured or underinsured at some point during the year.
[Source: The Commonwealth Fund, Learning from High Performance Health Systems Around the Globe, January 2007]

Family health insurance premiums have risen 87 percent since the year 2000, but median family incomes have increased by only 11 percent.
[Source: The Commonwealth Fund, Learning from High Performance Health Systems Around the Globe, January 2007]

One-third of families now report problems with medical bills or medical debt.
[Source: The Commonwealth Fund, Learning from High Performance Health Systems Around the Globe, January 2007]