|
|
| Priority #4: Preservation of the Medicaid Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program |
|
Background After years of NBCC grassroots lobbying and influence, Congress enacted the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act (P.L. 106-354) in 2000. Passage of this law expanded access to health care for thousands of underserved women. The Act authorized enhanced matching funds to states to provide Medicaid coverage to uninsured or underinsured women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer through a federal screening program. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have opted into the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program (BCCTP), but efforts to reduce funding for Medicaid threaten the future of the BCCTP. NBCC will work to protect and preserve the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program. (Read the History of BCCTP) Importance of Maintaining the BCCTP While the National Breast Cancer Coalition is working to ensure that everyone has access to quality health care, it has sought to make targeted changes to expand access to health care for at least some uninsured and underinsured women. Prior to the Treatment Program, women diagnosed through the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) screening program—ineligible for Medicaid coverage yet unable to afford insurance on their own— were falling through the cracks. After being diagnosed, they were left to rely on an unreliable system of dwindling charity care. NBCC recognized the injustice of this system. We believe that a federally-funded program to screen and diagnose women with breast cancer must be coupled with a treatment component.Policy Considerations for the 110th Congress President Bush recently released his fiscal year 2009 budget, which proposes cutting Medicaid by $46.7 billion over the next ten years. The Administration also continues to push for more state flexibility in the Medicaid program, and an increasing number of states have submitted applications for waivers that allow the restriction of benefits and eligibility. Medicaid cuts would shift billions of dollars in health care costs to state and local governments. As states deal with difficult economic issues, it is clear that reducing federal Medicaid funding would move policy in precisely the wrong direction. Conclusion The Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program provides health care coverage for individuals diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer through the CDC’s screening program. All states have adopted this optional Program, resulting in Medicaid coverage for tens of thousands of women who were previously uninsured or underinsured. NBCC will continue to monitor implementation of this Program and will seek improvements to ensure women get the health coverage they need. Significant cuts to the Medicaid program, such as those proposed by the Administration, would put optional programs like the BCCTP at risk of elimination. Without the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program, tens of thousands of women diagnosed with federal dollars would lose access to life-saving treatment and medical services. Read the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act (P.L. 106-354) |