Rhode Island, Oklahoma Lawmakers Seek To Expand Medicaid to Cover Cancer Treatments

Two Rhode Island lawmakers have proposed a bill that would provide free treatment for low-income women with breast or cervical cancer through Medicaid, the Providence Journal reports (Fitzpatrick, Providence Journal, 2/16). Under the federal Breast and Cervical Cancer Act of 2000 that was signed into law in January by President Clinton, states can implement a program to use Medicaid to cover the costs of any surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, follow-up care and medication for women who undergo a free breast and cervical cancer screening through a program operated by the CDC. The CDC has offered free screenings since 1990 at health centers, clinics and hospitals through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, but until last month, the costs of treatment were not covered. Uninsured women with incomes up to 250% of the federal poverty level, or an annual income $20,875 for an individual, are eligible for treatment coverage (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 1/5). This week, state House Majority Whip Suzanne Henseler and state Sen. Catherine Graziano pushed legislation using the new flexibility under federal law to have Medicaid pay for treatment costs for women diagnosed under the CDC program. Approving such legislation would provide coverage for women who earn too much to qualify for RIte Care, the state's Medicaid program, but not enough to afford private insurance. "To me, it's a no-brainer," Henseler said, adding, "You should be fighting the disease instead of fighting where the money is going to come from." According to the state Department of Human Services, if the program was instituted this March, 20 women with cancer and 150 women with precancerous lesions would be treated for the remainder of this fiscal year at a cost to Rhode Island of $72,000; next fiscal year, 40 women with cancer and 150 with precancerous conditions would receive treatment at a cost of $236,000. Rhode Island is the 19th state where legislators have proposed expanding their Medicaid programs to cover these cancer treatments (Providence Journal, 2/16). One other state is Oklahoma, where Sen. James Dunlap (R) has introduced a bill (SB 741) to cover treatment through Medicaid (Tulsa World, 2/14).