SOURCE: http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=2&campaign=BreastCancerLegislation&origin=BCS_FACE_FAN_ADGROUP_TAKEACTION_LegislationMarch8
Add your voice to moving two separate bills dealing with breast cancer early detection, prevention, and treatment.
 Goal: 20,000 • Progress: 774  |
Sponsored by: The
Breast Cancer Site
Help get two proposals to fight breast cancer out of congressional committees and to a vote! These bills could languish in committee for years and never see the light of day with a vote. Let the Chairmen and Ranking Members of these Committees know that you're paying attention and want them to move forward on these bills. Sign the petition today! |
H.R. 995, or the Mammogram and MRI Availability Act of 2009, is designed to amend a 1974 bill to require health plans that cover annual mammograms for women 40 years of age and older to also provide annual screening mammograms and annual MRIs for women at high risk for breast cancer, regardless of age. H.R. 995 calls on group and individual health insurance providers to incorporate extensive mammography and digital imaging coverage based on the following evidence as concluded by congressional research in 2005:
· In 2005, The National Cancer Institute declared that
a majority of breast cancer survival occurrences in the same year were
directly connected to regular mammographic testing.
· Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of
death for women in the US.
· Women over the age of 40 are over three times
more susceptible to breast cancer than those at the age of 30.
· More than half of surviving breast cancer
patients can attribute their survival to early and often mammographic
screening.
If passed, H.R. 995 would require health providers to offer annual mammograms and MRIs to women over the age of 40 and to women perceived at high risk for breast cancer. This bill is extremely important in ensuring that no woman forgoes mammographic screening due to unnecessary gaps in her health insurance plan.
H.R. 2279
H.R. 2279, or the Eliminating Disparities in Breast Cancer Treatment Act of 2009, lays out a set of amendments that would collectively require health care providers to adhere to the same standards when treating a patient for breast cancer. Based on research conducted by Congress, studies show that treatment for breast cancer has few accepted guidelines across the board, and that care is often administered based on race, class, or health insurance status. The following are some of Congress findings:
· African-American women are more likely to receive
delayed treatment after initial breast cancer diagnosis.
· Lymph node screening is often not offered to
African—American and Latina women, thereby excluding a vital part of the
screening process that can detect metastatic cancer cells.
· Non-white women are statistically more likely
than white women to be diagnosed at a more advanced stage of breast
cancer.
· Non-white women are statistically more likely
than white women to receive sub-standard care.
If passed, H.R. 2279 would eradicate all disparities with regards to breast cancer treatment, and would ensure that all women receive the same standards of care regardless of race and health insurance or financial status. The new set of standards, as required by H.R. 2279, would make the payout to the provider for the administration of treatment directly proportional to the quality of treatment. Ultimately, H.R. 2279 would create a much larger degree of visibility for patients in terms of the quality of care offered by different facilities, and would also provide incentives for caregivers to improve their treatment standards.
What It Means to be Assigned to a Committee
A new or revised bill's most important consideration often begins in a committee. Committees are smaller groups of the representatives we have voted into Congress. A new bill, long before it's ever put into law, often begins by being considered by one or several congressional committees. Committees may either give the bill a favorable or unfavorable report, and then the bill is forwarded to the House or Senate for consideration and voting, or the a committee may never even consider a bill presented to them, in which case it is highly likely the bill dies then and there.
Dear Chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman [D-CA30], Ranking Member, Rep. Joe Barton [R-TX6], Chairman, Rep. Charles Rangel [D-NY15], and Ranking Member, Rep. David Camp [R-MI4]: While we do hope some of the provisions in the breast cancer bills will be addressed in the pending health care reform package, we agree with Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone that it was still important for legislators to begin moving forward on these bills in particular, even as standalone items. The fact is, both H.R. 995 and H.R. 2279—two critical breast cancer legislation bills—were introduced and referred to committee last year and have not moved since. Breast cancer is one of the top two leading causes of death for women in the United States, so it's imperative that every woman receive the same high standard of care when it comes to treating this disease. We simply cannot lose any more women due to gaps in their insurance coverage or their ethnic and financial background. EVERY woman, regardless of extenuating circumstances, deserves nothing but the very best chance for survival. Please act now by taking an aggressive role in pushing these bills through to the next steps in the legislative process. Thank you for your time |
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