Lola Neudecker, left, and Nancy Partridge in Washington, DC, for the Susan G. Komen Center for Public Policy Annual Advocacy Summit April 27-29. Courtesy photo
ADVOCACY DAY ON THE HILL REPORT
Los Alamos resident Nancy Partridge and Albuquerque resident Lola Neudecker joined 200 volunteer Advocacy Ambassadors at The Susan G Komen Center for Public Policy annual Advocacy Summit in Washington DC April 27-29.
The two advocates who have known each other since second grade, spent the first part of the week visiting with members of the 119th Congress, advocating for breast cancer legislation and biomedical research funding with various legislative offices.
Advocates from 37 states attended the summit
The Advocacy Summit included a day of meetings about Komen’s public policy priorities and the current political landscape, a day of meetings with legislative offices, and a day of meetings on the evolving healthcare landscape.
On the hill, the Advocacy Ambassadors focused on educating legislators about three pieces of key legislation and requesting the legislators co-sponsor the bills. Partridge and Neudecker met with the offices of New Mexico Senators Ben Ray Lujan and Martin Heinrich, and New Mexico Congresswomen Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-3) and Melanie Stansbury (D-1), and NM Congressman Gabe Vasquez (D-2).
Partridge and Neudecker illustrated the need for legislation with personal stories and asked elected officials to increase biomedical research funding to the National Institutes of Health, as well as co-sponsor the Screens Act, the Access to Breast Cancer Diagnosis Act, and the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act.
The advocates requested that the legislators help make biomedical research an unwavering national priority by funding the National Institutes of Health at $53.303 billion, including a proportional increase for the National Cancer Institute, in FY27. Research funded by the NIH has played a significant role in every major cancer prevention, detection, and treatment advancement, contributing to 4.5 million fewer cancer deaths from 1991 to 2022.
Neudecker, who also advocates for the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, explained the SCREENS for Cancer Act (H.R. 2381) and the need for increased funding. SCREENS reauthorizes a critical program – the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) – which provides access to breast cancer screening and diagnostic services for low-income, uninsured, or underinsured women. The NBCCEDP, at its currently authorized level, serves approximately 15% of women who are eligible for the program.
Partridge asked that legislators alleviate financial burdens for medically necessary diagnostic and supplemental breast imaging through the Access to Breast Cancer Diagnosis Act which would require federally regulated insurance (such as employer-provided health insurance) to cover the cost of the diagnostic exams with no cost-sharing, which is similar to a law on the books in New Mexico for state-regulated health insurance.
After the meetings, the advocates were notified that Congresswoman Stansbury signed on as a co-sponsor to the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act and Congresswoman Leger Fernandez co-sponsored the Screens Act and the Access to Breast Cancer Diagnosis Act.