U.S. cancer costs add up to $87.8 billion; Patients pay $4 billion out-of-pocket

Letai takes a swipe at “ill-informed commentators,” as he lays out his scientific vision for NCI
“To my knowledge, 100% of grants that clear my desk get funded”

As of the end of August, NCI has selected 1,891 competing awards for funding this fiscal year, all of which will be funded by the year’s end, NCI Director Anthony G. Letai said to the National Cancer Advisory Board.

September 18, 2026

Vol.52 No.34

By Claire Marie Porter

Health Equity

As Medicaid work requirements loom, CMS guidance offers automatic exemptions for some cancer patients
Caveat: The guidance is optional. Will states opt in?

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published a guidance that spells out a process for states to use to exempt Medicaid recipients from the controversial work requirements established last year under President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Scientific progress can’t help people if they can’t access care
This is a policy problem. And it is one we can change.

Scientific advances have produced therapies that allow some people with metastatic breast cancer to live longer and better. We want that progress to continue, and we will continue to fight for the right research necessary to achieve it.

September 18, 2026

Vol.52 No.34

By Frances M. Visco and Michelle Tregear

The end of “more money, more people, more trials”
Cancer centers are being asked to grow their portfolios on flat budgets. Headcount is the wrong answer.

Congress settled the FY26 question in February, with NCI receiving $7.352 billion, an increase of $128 million over the prior year. After a year in which cancer center directors spent an extraordinary share of their leadership attention defending the research enterprise, that outcome deserves to be called what it was: a win.

Harold Freeman, a surgeon who championed health equity, dies at 93
Freeman, the father of patient navigation, served as president of ACS and chair of the President’s Cancer Panel

Harold P. Freeman, a surgeon who started his career in Harlem, where, in addition to performing surgeries, he pioneered the system of patient navigation, and who studied health disparities and served as president of the American Cancer Society and chair of the President’s Cancer Panel, died on Aug. 11. He was 93.

Harold Freeman in his own words
“When you fight poverty, you‘re fighting a humanitarian battle for all people.”

Harold Freeman, who was widely regarded as the “father of patient navigation,” was also a passionate storyteller with a special talent for coining a phrase.

September 18, 2026

Vol.52 No.34

By Katie Goldberg

U.S. cancer costs add up to $87.8 billion; Patients pay $4 billion out-of-pocket

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Letai takes a swipe at “ill-informed commentators,” as he lays out his scientific vision for NCI
“To my knowledge, 100% of grants that clear my desk get funded”

As Medicaid work requirements loom, CMS guidance offers automatic exemptions for some cancer patients
Caveat: The guidance is optional. Will states opt in?

Scientific progress can’t help people if they can’t access care
This is a policy problem. And it is one we can change.

The end of “more money, more people, more trials”
Cancer centers are being asked to grow their portfolios on flat budgets. Headcount is the wrong answer.

Harold Freeman, a surgeon who championed health equity, dies at 93
Freeman, the father of patient navigation, served as president of ACS and chair of the President’s Cancer Panel

Harold Freeman in his own words
“When you fight poverty, you‘re fighting a humanitarian battle for all people.”

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U.S. cancer costs add up to $87.8 billion; Patients pay $4 billion out-of-pocket

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

Letai takes a swipe at “ill-informed commentators,” as he lays out his scientific vision for NCI“To my knowledge, 100% of grants that clear my desk get funded”

As Medicaid work requirements loom, CMS guidance offers automatic exemptions for some cancer patientsCaveat: The guidance is optional. Will states opt in?

Scientific progress can’t help people if they can’t access careThis is a policy problem. And it is one we can change.

The end of “more money, more people, more trials”Cancer centers are being asked to grow their portfolios on flat budgets. Headcount is the wrong answer.

Harold Freeman, a surgeon who championed health equity, dies at 93Freeman, the father of patient navigation, served as president of ACS and chair of the President’s Cancer Panel

Harold Freeman in his own words“When you fight poverty, you‘re fighting a humanitarian battle for all people.”

Never miss an issue!

Login

Letai takes a swipe at “ill-informed commentators,” as he lays out his scientific vision for NCI
“To my knowledge, 100% of grants that clear my desk get funded”

As Medicaid work requirements loom, CMS guidance offers automatic exemptions for some cancer patients
Caveat: The guidance is optional. Will states opt in?

Scientific progress can’t help people if they can’t access care
This is a policy problem. And it is one we can change.

The end of “more money, more people, more trials”
Cancer centers are being asked to grow their portfolios on flat budgets. Headcount is the wrong answer.

Harold Freeman, a surgeon who championed health equity, dies at 93
Freeman, the father of patient navigation, served as president of ACS and chair of the President’s Cancer Panel

Harold Freeman in his own words
“When you fight poverty, you‘re fighting a humanitarian battle for all people.”