Standing Up for What Matters: Why ZERO Signed the Medicaid Amicus Brief By Courtney Bugler, CFREPresident & CEO, ZERO Prostate CancerWhen cancer enters your life, everything else grinds to a halt. As a long-time cancer survivor and someone who helped care for my own father through his prostate cancer journey, I know intimately what a cancer diagnosis does to a family. You’re suddenly managing a storm of clinical terms, biopsy grades, treatment calendars, side effects, and raw emotional weight.The very last thing any patient or care partner should be forced to navigate while fighting for their life is a bureaucratic maze designed to pull the rug out from under their healthcare coverage.Yet right now, that is the exact reality hanging over thousands of vulnerable patients.Earlier this week, ZERO Prostate Cancer joined our colleagues at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and a strong coalition of patient advocacy and civil rights organizations in filing an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland for Taylor v. Kennedy.The lawsuit challenges an Interim Final Rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding Medicaid work requirements enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).Because we don’t step into the courtroom every day, I want to be completely open with our community about why we took this stand, how it protects the men we serve, and how we think about taking these kinds of advocacy actions.In Cancer Care, Coverage Is SurvivalWhen Congress passed the OBBBA, lawmakers acknowledged a simple truth: people dealing with serious, complex, or life-threatening illnesses shouldn't be penalized with rigid work requirements just to keep their health insurance. The law explicitly carved out protections for "medically frail" individuals.Unfortunately, CMS’s Interim Final Rule took that clear statutory protection and tied it up in administrative knots. By establishing narrow definitions, strict reporting windows, and burdensome paperwork hurdles, the rule threatens to strip Medicaid from the very individuals Congress intended to protect.Whether a man is recovering from a radical prostatectomy, managing the debilitating fatigue of androgen deprivation therapy, or navigating weeks of daily radiation, his ability to clock continuous, predictable hours at a job is routinely disrupted. Under this rule, a patient who unquestionably meets every clinical definition of being unable to work could still lose their insurance simply because they missed a confusing reporting deadline while recovering from surgery or managing treatment side effects.And make no mistake: gaps in coverage kill. When patients lose Medicaid, they delay PSA screenings, put off vital staging scans, skip daily oral therapies, or face financial ruin trying to pay out of pocket. Prostate cancer affects 1 in 8 American men. Medicaid is an indispensable lifeline for low-income men and communities facing historical disparities. Signing this brief directly supports policies that keep patients insured, in care, and alive.Doing What We’ve Always DoneOur choice to participate in this brief isn't a pivot or a distraction from our core work. It is a direct continuation of the advocacy ZERO has led for decades.We don't just talk about improving and saving lives from prostate cancer; we work every single day to tear down the systemic barriers that prevent men from getting diagnosed early and treated effectively. Whether we are lobbying on Capitol Hill for robust research funding or pushing state legislatures to eliminate cost-sharing for diagnostic screenings, our North Star is always equitable access to care.When a federal administrative rule directly undermines that access for vulnerable patients, staying silent would contradict everything ZERO stands for.Setting the Bar: What Precedent Does This Establish?Does joining this brief mean ZERO is going to weigh in on every health policy lawsuit that makes headlines?No. It doesn't.Most legal battles involve policy questions that are only peripherally or ambiguously connected to our core mission. We intentionally maintain a high bar for our legal advocacy. We will only step into the courtroom when:The issue is squarely within our purview: It directly impacts access to screening, diagnosis, and treatment for prostate cancer patients and high-risk populations.The threat is real and immediate: The administrative or legislative hurdle causes tangible, measurable harm to patient outcomes.Our voice adds distinct value: Bringing the specific perspective of the prostate cancer community strengthens a coordinated patient-advocacy effort.Engaging in Taylor v. Kennedy meets every single one of those standards.The Bottom LineAt ZERO, we show up where it matters. We show up in community health centers, on Capitol Hill educating lawmakers, and, when necessary, in federal court standing between patients and administrative red tape.No one should have their cancer care cut short because of fine print and confusing paperwork. We are proud to stand with our coalition partners to defend Congressional intent, protect Medicaid coverage, and keep our focus where it belongs: saving lives. Blog Posts Contributor Courtney Bugler, President & CEO Bridge Builder. Rainmaker. Change Agent. World traveling, baseball mom-ing, cancer survivor and caregiver passionate about driving systemic progress in public health to save lives. Learn more about Courtney
By Courtney Bugler, CFREPresident & CEO, ZERO Prostate CancerWhen cancer enters your life, everything else grinds to a halt. As a long-time cancer survivor and someone who helped care for my own father through his prostate cancer journey, I know intimately what a cancer diagnosis does to a family. You’re suddenly managing a storm of clinical terms, biopsy grades, treatment calendars, side effects, and raw emotional weight.The very last thing any patient or care partner should be forced to navigate while fighting for their life is a bureaucratic maze designed to pull the rug out from under their healthcare coverage.Yet right now, that is the exact reality hanging over thousands of vulnerable patients.Earlier this week, ZERO Prostate Cancer joined our colleagues at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and a strong coalition of patient advocacy and civil rights organizations in filing an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland for Taylor v. Kennedy.The lawsuit challenges an Interim Final Rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding Medicaid work requirements enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).Because we don’t step into the courtroom every day, I want to be completely open with our community about why we took this stand, how it protects the men we serve, and how we think about taking these kinds of advocacy actions.In Cancer Care, Coverage Is SurvivalWhen Congress passed the OBBBA, lawmakers acknowledged a simple truth: people dealing with serious, complex, or life-threatening illnesses shouldn't be penalized with rigid work requirements just to keep their health insurance. The law explicitly carved out protections for "medically frail" individuals.Unfortunately, CMS’s Interim Final Rule took that clear statutory protection and tied it up in administrative knots. By establishing narrow definitions, strict reporting windows, and burdensome paperwork hurdles, the rule threatens to strip Medicaid from the very individuals Congress intended to protect.Whether a man is recovering from a radical prostatectomy, managing the debilitating fatigue of androgen deprivation therapy, or navigating weeks of daily radiation, his ability to clock continuous, predictable hours at a job is routinely disrupted. Under this rule, a patient who unquestionably meets every clinical definition of being unable to work could still lose their insurance simply because they missed a confusing reporting deadline while recovering from surgery or managing treatment side effects.And make no mistake: gaps in coverage kill. When patients lose Medicaid, they delay PSA screenings, put off vital staging scans, skip daily oral therapies, or face financial ruin trying to pay out of pocket. Prostate cancer affects 1 in 8 American men. Medicaid is an indispensable lifeline for low-income men and communities facing historical disparities. Signing this brief directly supports policies that keep patients insured, in care, and alive.Doing What We’ve Always DoneOur choice to participate in this brief isn't a pivot or a distraction from our core work. It is a direct continuation of the advocacy ZERO has led for decades.We don't just talk about improving and saving lives from prostate cancer; we work every single day to tear down the systemic barriers that prevent men from getting diagnosed early and treated effectively. Whether we are lobbying on Capitol Hill for robust research funding or pushing state legislatures to eliminate cost-sharing for diagnostic screenings, our North Star is always equitable access to care.When a federal administrative rule directly undermines that access for vulnerable patients, staying silent would contradict everything ZERO stands for.Setting the Bar: What Precedent Does This Establish?Does joining this brief mean ZERO is going to weigh in on every health policy lawsuit that makes headlines?No. It doesn't.Most legal battles involve policy questions that are only peripherally or ambiguously connected to our core mission. We intentionally maintain a high bar for our legal advocacy. We will only step into the courtroom when:The issue is squarely within our purview: It directly impacts access to screening, diagnosis, and treatment for prostate cancer patients and high-risk populations.The threat is real and immediate: The administrative or legislative hurdle causes tangible, measurable harm to patient outcomes.Our voice adds distinct value: Bringing the specific perspective of the prostate cancer community strengthens a coordinated patient-advocacy effort.Engaging in Taylor v. Kennedy meets every single one of those standards.The Bottom LineAt ZERO, we show up where it matters. We show up in community health centers, on Capitol Hill educating lawmakers, and, when necessary, in federal court standing between patients and administrative red tape.No one should have their cancer care cut short because of fine print and confusing paperwork. We are proud to stand with our coalition partners to defend Congressional intent, protect Medicaid coverage, and keep our focus where it belongs: saving lives.
