Advocacy Priorities

• Mobilize and train volunteer advocates to participate in state and national breast cancer advocacy efforts to improve public policy related to breast cancer and healthcare access
• Advocacy Scholarships: Since 2009, thanks to John Noss, VBCF has offered Karin Decker Noss Scholarships to selected participants to attend national breast cancer educational conferences and bring this knowledge back to Virginia to carry on the work that Karin Decker Noss, a dedicated board member and former VBCF president, began. (Ongoing)

National Legislation

• Funding for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (DOD BCRP). This program, created in 1992, produces innovative, high-impact breast cancer research through a partnership of scientists and consumers and is responsible for breakthroughs like the development of Herceptin to treat HER2+ breast cancer. VBCF advocates on Capitol Hill for continued funding for this important program each year, and because of our efforts, Virginia cancer research institutions such as UVA, VCU, Hampton University, and VA Tech have received over $53.4 million in funding from FY92-25. 
• National Breast and Cervical Treatment Act, providing free screening and treatment to low-income and uninsured women diagnosed through Virginia’s Every Woman’s Life program. (2000)

State Legislation

• • Elimination of Out-of-Pocket Costs for Diagnostic and Supplemental Breast Imaging. (2025) Beginning 1/1/2026, all state-regulated individual and group insurance plans are prohibited from imposing cost-sharing requirements for diagnostic and supplemental breast examinations. Patients who are insured under Virginia law cannot be charged coinsurance, copayments, or deductibles for: diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasounds, or breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 
  • Medical Debt Reform (2024, 2025): Safeguarding Virginians from the most extreme forms of debt collection practices:
    • Cap interest rates for medical debt at 3% a year with a 90-day interest-free grace period (2025)
    • Prohibits wage garnishment for all patients who qualify for financial assistance programs (2025)
    • Prohibits a lien or foreclosure on all real and personal property (protects everything a patient owns, including the equity in their home) (2025)
    • Prohibiting medical debt from being reported to consumer reporting agencies (2024). Medical bills can weigh down credit scores, which are used for a range of things, like renting an apartment, getting a mortgage or auto loan, or buying a cellphone. This law does not erase the debt someone owes, but it prevents that debt from appearing on their credit score.
    • Preventing medical debt collection if the process has not begun within three years of the due date noted on the final invoice for a health care service. This helps prevent medical debt from lingering for many years (2024)
  • Ending the practice of “surprise” medical billing (2020). Now, patients who receive out-of-network care at a hospital covered by their plan can only be charged the in-network rate required by their plan.  The law applies to both emergency services and non-emergency, out-of-network services.
  • Limiting the sale of short-term, limited-duration health care plans (STLDP) to 6-months in duration (2020).  STLDPs are not required to adhere to important patient protections – they can refuse coverage for pre-existing conditions and choose not to cover essential health care services, including cancer screenings.
  • Limits on step therapy (2019). Step therapy – also known as “fail first” – occurs when a doctor prescribes a medication, but the insurance company requires the patient to try one or several other drugs first, usually based on financial, not medical considerations. This law requires insurers to establish a clear, fast, and transparent process for patients and providers to request exemptions to step therapy, requiring protocols to be based on peer-reviewed, clinical evidence. 
  • Virginia expanded Medicaid eligibility, allowing more Virginians to access preventive cancer screening and treatment regardless of their economic status (2018).  Since 2019, over 560,000 Virginians have enrolled in Medicaid.
  • Expansion of Virginia’s Affirmative Defense law so cancer patients can access medical marijuana in consultation with their health care providers. VBCF was the only cancer organization in the Commonwealth to advocate for expanded access to medical cannabis in Virginia. (2018)
  • National Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) – and continuing to protect patients with pre-existing conditions, including breast cancer survivors. (2016)
  • Oral Chemotherapy Parity Law requiring Virginia’s group and individual health insurance plans to cover oral chemotherapy drugs on no less favorable terms than IV chemotherapy. (2012)
  • Breast Density Notification Law – Virginia was the third state in the U.S. to pass such a law. (2012)
  • State legislation to ensure coverage for breast reconstruction and ensure a 48-hour hospital stay following a mastectomy. (1998)
  • Virginia’s Genetic Information Privacy Act to prohibit health insurers from discrimination based upon a family history of breast cancer. (1996)