November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and a newly released report
shows far too few Nebraskans at high risk for lung cancer are getting the recommended screening.

The American Lung Association's latest "State of Lung Cancer" report ranks Nebraska 33rd for lung cancer screening -- at less than 4% of those who are at risk.

Julia McCarville, executive director of the American Lung Association in Nebraska, said although lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths for both men and women, the nationwide outlook improved somewhat between 2015 and 2019.

"The five-year survival rate increased from 22% up to 26.6%, and additionally, we're seeing the survival rate increasing at a faster pace among communities of color, so it is no longer significantly lower compared to white individuals," McCarville said.

McCarville stressed that a low-dose CT scan can lead to an earlier diagnosis. And when lung cancer is caught at an early stage, it can increase one's chances of surviving five years by more than 60% . At Savedbythescan.org, people can assess their risk for lung cancer and their eligibility for a low-dose CT scan.

Some 10% to 20% of those diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked, and McCarville said anyone with concerning symptoms -- such as a lingering cough, chest pain, shortness of breath or frequent lung infections - should talk with their doctor about getting a low-dose CT scan.

Dr. Sumit Mukherjee, medical director of thoracic oncology for Methodist Health System, calls it a "huge missed opportunity" that so few people who are eligible are getting screened. He explained that screening should be done with a low-dose CT scan, not a chest X-ray.

"Because you just don't see these little spots in the lungs on chest X-rays, and by the time you can see them on X-ray, lung cancer becomes more advanced generally at that time," Mukherjee said.

Mukherjee added that part of the explanation for lung cancer being the leading cause of cancer deaths is the fact that it is often diagnosed at a late stage.

He said there is a movement to help women, especially those at high risk, become as accepting of regular screening for lung cancer as they are for breast cancer. More non-smoking women than non-smoking men are diagnosed with lung cancer.

"We all focus so much with women and breast cancer, and there is great screening and education behind breast cancer awareness and screening, and really more women die of lung cancer than breast cancer and colon cancer combined," Mukherjee said.

For those who do receive a diagnosis of lung cancer, Mukherjee added there are a number of better technologies and medications available now than in the past. However, he stressed that lung cancer is still a very deadly form of cancer that can have a profound impact on people's lives.

Advocates for affordable health care are speaking out to remind people what is at stake if the Affordable Care Act is repealed in the wake of recent statements by former President Donald Trump.

Mr. Trump, who leads the polls for the 2024 Republican nomination, has recently said he is looking at alternatives to the Affordable Care Act, and criticized the GOP lawmakers who voted against his attempts to end the program in 2017.

Laura Packard, a Stage 4 cancer survivor, noted before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies were allowed to deny coverage to people like her with pre-existing conditions.

"While I was on the couch, trying to survive, that's when Republicans in the U.S. House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act that was keeping me alive," Packard recounted. "Then, they held a party to celebrate. We can't go back to that."

The Affordable Care Act created health exchanges -- like Covered California -- offering subsidized health insurance to millions of people. And it funded an expansion of MediCal, benefiting 5 million low-income Californians in the first six years after the law's passage.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who helped write the health care law, said the Affordable Care Act forces health insurance companies to cover basic services like maternity care, mental health services, cancer screenings and contraception. The idea of getting rid of the law has been largely unpopular, and Wyden knows why.

"It would mean higher premiums for families and health insurance," Wyden pointed out. "And it would also threaten Medicaid nursing home benefits, because Medicaid is paying much of the nursing home bill for this country."

The law also allows adult children to stay on their parents' health plans until age 26 and bans lifetime caps on coverage.


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Nurses who care for patients in their homes in the Willamette Valley are pushing to get their union contract negotiations across the finish line.

Home health and hospice care workers at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart in the Eugene area have been in a long struggle to complete negotiations. The nurses' contract expired in April.

Jo Turner, a hospice visiting nurse who has been leading negotiations for the Oregon Nurses Association, said they are holding an informational picket today in Eugene.

"The plan is to get the public involved," Turner explained. "Get them to understand the lack of respect that PeaceHealth is demonstrating to their home care nurses."

The home care nurses are looking to maintain pay parity with nurses in hospitals. Turner argued continuity of care between hospital and home is important. PeaceHealth did not respond to a request for comment.

PeaceHealth is closing the only hospital in Eugene at the end of the year. Turner noted there is concern it will mean more patients will need care at home.

"There's all these patients that are being discharged quickly and with no safety net," Turner pointed out. "They're just expecting Sacred Heart hospice and Sacred Heart home care to take these patients that are extremely heavy burdens that the rest of the home care companies will not take."

Turner added PeaceHealth cannot take the same approach to negotiations in Eugene as it does in other cities.

"You have to meet your community where it's at and you have to provide for your community, not like you would provide for Vancouver or Bellingham," Turner stressed. "We are our own special community, and who better to serve it than your nurses that live in the community?"

Starting Friday, North Carolinians will have greater access to health care as the long-awaited Medicaid expansion is launched.

Medicaid will provide coverage to individuals ages 19 to 64 with higher incomes, allowing eligibility for those earning up to 138% of the federal poverty rate.

Kody Kinsley, North Carolina's Secretary of Health and Human Services, said this expansion will bring essential care to thousands, improving their health and overall well-being.

"That's 600,000 people who will be able to have their medications covered by insurance and that's 600,000 people who -- when they face an emergency event and they have to go to the hospital -- will have the peace of mind to know that they're not going to get stuck with a medical bill that they can't afford," Kinsley said.

In addition to the increased income threshold, the Family Planning Medicaid program will offer reproductive health care at no cost to people with incomes up to 195% of the Federal Poverty Level. This means even a single person earning up to $2,400 per month will have access to essential care.

Kinsley added individuals already receiving family planning benefits and meeting the requirements for full Medicaid will be automatically enrolled on Friday. They should expect to receive notification via mail. He said this expansion not only ensures health care for many throughout the state but also supports hospitals and empowers working families to thrive in the workforce.

"Medicaid expansion helps working families; 80% of the individuals that will benefit from expansion are in working families. It will increase access to mental-health and substance-use treatment and will help build a healthier workforce," he explained.

To support the expansion's non-federal share cost, more than 100 hospitals will also receive about $3 billion through the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program. North Carolina is now the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.


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