Screening & Prevention
Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act Aims to Cure Problem of Diagnosis Without Treatment Options
For the third year in a row, advocates are pushing for an answer to the difficult question that is posed by the current federal cancer screening program - can you provide for the important screening procedure without providing women diagnosed with real treatment options? The bill, The Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act (S. 266) addresses a very practical problem - once women are diagnosed under the program established by the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortally Prevention Act, there is no program in place to then deliver the prompt care that can increase their chances of survival. The new bill takes the successful screening program one step further by allowing women diagnosed with cancer under the act to then obtain treatment through a Medicaid program. Under the bill, federal funds would cover 75% of treatment costs, a fact that supporters hope will provide an incentive for state participation.
Many of the women screened under the current federal program find out they have cancer and then must scramble to piece together a treatment regimen, with some never securing appropriate treatment while others find services too late. These women live below the poverty line but are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid and often do not have insurance. Managed care is making it more difficult to find doctors who can provide free or reduced fee services, and though treatment options are improving the chances of survival, advanced technology and new medications are increasingly expensive.
The Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act of 1999 was introduced in the Senate on March 18, 1999 by Sen. Chafee (R-RI) and has 46 cosponsors. The House bill (H.R. 1070) was introduced by Congressman Rick Lazio (R-NY) and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) on March 11, 1999 and has 265 cosponsors. With such solid support in both the Senate and the House, this could be the year that Congress addresses this serious defect in the provision of health care to low income women.
