Español
PDFs by language
Our 24/7 cancer helpline provides support for people dealing with cancer. We can connect you with trained cancer information specialists who will answer questions about a cancer diagnosis and provide guidance and a compassionate ear.
Chat live online
Select the Live Chat button at the bottom of the page
At our National Cancer Information Center trained Cancer Information Specialists can answer questions 24 hours a day, every day of the year to empower you with accurate, up-to-date information to help you make educated health decisions. We connect patients, caregivers, and family members with valuable services and resources.
Or ask us how you can get involved and support the fight against cancer. Some of the topics we can assist with include:
For medical questions, we encourage you to review our information with your doctor.
Financial and Insurance Matters
The health care law known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA, sometimes called Obamacare) includes protections for patients and their families. People have choices for getting affordable and understandable health care. The best resource for learning more about the ACA and how it might help you is the healthcare.gov website.
Health care costs have been rising for decades, and some people continue to pay more for insurance and costs. But the ACA helps reduce health care costs for many people by:
The ACA offers coverage to those who need it. It requires that all health plans sold in the health insurance marketplaces cover certain essential benefits needed to prevent and treat a serious disease such as cancer. Here are some health insurance situations people often wonder about:
The ACA does several things to allow patients to choose the type of care they need. It requires private health plans to give consumers easy-to-understand information about coverage. It also encourages competition among insurance companies and helps consumers make more informed choices about the best plan for them. People are able to select a plan either during a set open enrollment period or if they experience a problem known as a qualifying event that allows them to enroll during a special enrollment period.
For more information about how the ACA affects people with cancer and their families,
visit HealthCare.gov or GetCoveredAmerica.org, or call 1-800-318-2596.
Questions? Call us at 1-800-227-2345.
The American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), is working to make certain the ACA continues to help people with cancer and their families. For more information, visit acscan.org.
The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team
Our team is made up of doctors and oncology certified nurses with deep knowledge of cancer care as well as journalists, editors, and translators with extensive experience in medical writing.
Galan N. The Affordable Care Act: An update. Medical News Today. 2018. Accessed at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/247287.php on May 13, 2019.
HealthCare.gov. Affordable Care Act (ACA). Accessed at https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/ on May 13, 2019.
HealthCare.gov. Out-of-pocket maximum/limit. Accessed at https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/out-of-pocket-maximum-limit/ on April 29, 2022.
HealthInsurance.org. Affordable Care Act (ACA). Accessed at https://www.healthinsurance.org/glossary/affordable-care-act/ on May 13, 2019.
Last Revised: December 7, 2022
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.