Coalitions

A coalition is a group of organizations/people/interests that come together to accomplish a common goal. When it comes to policy advocacy, coalitions are an important tool to help bring about change for the ovarian cancer community.

OCRA is a member of several different coalitions. Some are formed around passing a particular piece of legislation, while others help us monitor pending regulatory changes that might impact our community.

Here are some of the coalitions with which OCRA participates:

  • Cancer Leadership Council (CLC) is composed of cancer patient advocacy groups and professional societies. The coalition meets monthly and engages on a number of different issues facing the cancer community. Notably, the CLC will often engage on a broad range of regulatory issues, including around coverage and reimbursement for Medicare. The CLC frequently authors sign-on letters on important topics and drafts public comments when the opportunity arises.
  • One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) is a coalition composed exclusively of patient advocacy organizations and engages on healthcare-related federal appropriations efforts. They typically host two annual advocacy days in which we are frequent participants. The coalition is led by American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. 
  • Coalition to Improve Access to Cancer Care (CIACC) is composed of cancer patient advocacy organizations, industry and professional societies. They advocate for the passage of oral chemotherapy parity legislation at a national level. They also have a sister coalition which engages on the same issue on a state level. 
  • Deadliest Cancers Coalition (DCC) is composed of cancer patient groups where the 5-year survival rate is less than 50%. They focus on improving federal commitments to research for the deadliest cancers and promoting legislation to ensure that this community is not overlooked.
  • The Defense Health Research Consortium  (DHRC) was formalized in 2014 to bring together patient advocacy organizations, medical provider groups, veterans’ organizations, research advocacy groups, and private sector interests — all with the single purpose of protecting and preserving funding for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs.
  • Coalition to Improve Diagnosis (CID) is convened and led by the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM), CID is a collaboration of more than 60 leading healthcare organizations focused on ensuring that diagnoses are accurate, communicated and timely.

If you know of a coalition that you think OCRA should join, please let us know about it at advocacy@ocrahope.org.