American Cancer Society Devotes Entire Ad Budget to Promoting Health Insurance

American Cancer Society Devotes Entire Ad Budget to Promoting Health Insurance in Individual Health Insurance

The American Cancer Society spends about 15 million dollars every year on ads aimed at convincing people to quit smoking and get life-saving cancer screenings. But this year, the money is going elsewhere.

The ACS has decided to spend its entire 2008 advertising budget on a campaign against inadequate health insurance coverage. The decision was made after a recent study showed a link between a lack of health coverage and a delay in detecting malignant cancer. The ads won’t promote health care reform plans, and won’t support any particular politician’s health care platform.

“I believe, if we don't fix the health care system, that lack of access will be a bigger cancer killer than tobacco,” said ACS CEO John Seffrin.

Not everyone agrees with the move. In a recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, former New York lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey writes that “…cancer patients in the U.S. are most likely to be screened regularly, have the fastest access to treatment once they are diagnosed with the disease and can get new, effective drugs long before they're available in most other countries.”

McCaughey added: “(The ACS) should continue its life-saving messages about prevention and screening instead of switching to a political agenda.”

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