States Provide Cancer Treatment for Poor Women.It's a hot issue, with 41 states introducing 85 bills in the 2001 sessions designed to extend cancer treatment to poor women. A new Medicaid option has allowed states to help uninsured women who need breast or cervical cancer Cervical Cancer Definition Cervical cancer is a disease in which the cells of the cervix become abnormal and start to grow uncontrollably, forming tumors. treatments. Idaho was the first state to extend its Medicaid program to those women when it enacted legislation in March. Twenty-four other states followed with similar laws by July. At least two other states passed similar legislation that now awaits a governor's signature. The new Medicaid option was made possible by the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000. The federal act allows states to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income women found to have breast or cervical cancer through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC See Control Data, century date change and Back Orifice. CDC - Control Data Corporation ) cancer screening program. States choosing to expand eligibility to these women must submit an amendment to the state Medicaid plan. Health and Human Services Noun 1. Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has already approved amendment plans in at least 10 states. All states opting to elect the new Medicaid option get an enhanced federal match to help pay for the coverage. An estimated 192,200 women will be newly diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and 12,900 will be diagnosed with invasive invasive /in·va·sive/ (-siv) 1. having the quality of invasiveness. 2. involving puncture of the skin or insertion of an instrument or foreign material into the body; said of diagnostic techniques. cervical cancer. Approximately 45,000 women will die from these cancers, a number disproportionately dis·pro·por·tion·ate adj. Out of proportion, as in size, shape, or amount. dis  pro·por represented by women of racial and ethnic minorities
and low-income groups.
Detecting breast and cervical cancer in the earliest stages greatly improves a woman's chance for survival. Timely mammography mammography, diagnostic procedure that uses low-dose X rays to detect abnormalities in the breasts. The early diagnosis of breast cancer made possible by the routine use of mammography for screening women increases a woman's treatment alternatives and improves her screening is believed to prevent 15 percent to 30 percent of breast cancer deaths among women over age 40. Women whose cervical cancer is detected in its earliest stage have a nearly 100 percent chance of survival when they receive treatment and follow-up. By screening and treating women earlier, states can save money and lives in the long run by avoiding costly indigent indigent 1) n. a person so poor and needy that he/she cannot provide the necessities of life (food, clothing, decent shelter) for himself/herself. 2) n. one without sufficient income to afford a lawyer for defense in a criminal case. care for avoidable or treatable terminal illnesses. |
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