State Budget Provision to provide Medicaid Coverage of Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment

Ephrata (June 22) --- Pat Halpin-Murphy, President and Founder of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC), praised Governor Tom Ridge for ensuring funding for the treatment of breast and cervical cancer for low- income women. This provision is provided for in the state's 2001-02 budget. An important new federal law gives individual states the option of providing this extended Medicaid coverage.

"We have been concerned for years," said Halpin-Murphy, a breast cancer survivor, "that uninsured and underinsured women who were able to get free mammograms through our Mother's Day Mammograms® program may not have access to treatment if they were diagnosed with breast cancer. Governor Ridge took the lead after passage of the federal Breast and Cervical Cancer Act to guarantee funding for better and complete breast and cervical cancer treatment for Pennsylvania women."

Mother's Day Mammograms® is a PA Breast Cancer Coalition program supported by the Rite Aid Women's Health Foundation, the PA Department of Health and other health-care organizations. This award-winning PBCC program offers free mammograms to uninsured and underinsured PA women 40 and over during the month of May.

"Mother's Day Mammograms® saves lives," said Charlotte Asherman, PBCC Executive Director and Mother's Day Mammograms® founder, "but now we can look to getting uninsured and underinsured Pennsylvania women the follow-up care and treatment they deserve."

The PBCC joined with Governor Ridge; First Lady Michele Ridge, PBCC Honorary Chair; state legislative leaders Kathy Manderino and Dennis O'Brien; and Katie True, Executive Director of the PA Commission for Women to assure that low-income women will get lifesaving treatment after a breast cancer diagnosis.

A combination of state and federal funds will provide nearly $ 4 million toward cancer treatment. "Although we are still a long way from the PBCC's goal of finding a cure for breast cancer now so that our daughters won't have to," continued Halpin-Murphy, " we are very pleased with Governor Ridge's decisive action." more

Last year, nearly 12,000 Pennsylvania women were diagnosed with breast cancer, and more than 2,000 women died from the disease. There has been a slight reduction in the mortality rate for breast cancer patients, but the incidence is increasing, perhaps because of early detection.

To raise additional research funds, PBCC worked with then-legislator Katie True to pass the Breast and Cervical Cancer Research Act which allows state residents to donate all or part of their state tax refund to breast cancer research. Governor Ridge signed the measure into law in 1997, and in its first three years, the check-off has raised more than $700,000.

Because of their advocacy efforts and leadership, both the Governor and Mrs. Ridge were awarded the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition's Pink Ribbon Award. In 1997, Gov. Ridge signed a law guaranteeing insurance coverage for post-mastectomy reconstruction up to six years after surgery. As the Honorary Chair of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, Mrs. Ridge also promotes breast cancer awareness through the National Governors Association spouse program, public service announcements, speaking engagements and educational conferences.

The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, founded in 1993, is a non-profit organization. It serves each of the state's 67 counties though programs such as the Income Tax Check Off program, Mother's Day Mammograms®, the Keystone Breast Cancer Conference and "67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania." The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition's mission is to find a cure for breast cancer and to improve the quality of breast cancer education, outreach and research in the state.