California Governor Requests $20M for Prostate Cancer Treatment Fund for the Uninsured

Low-income, uninsured men with prostate cancer would be eligible for state-funded treatment through a new state program modeled after the California Breast Cancer Treatment Fund, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports. As part of the state budget, which has yet to be approved, Gov. Gray Davis (D) has requested $20 million for the program, which would provide men with access to surgery, other treatments and follow-up care for prostate cancer. The program, which would target men in the middle age and older, would contract with physicians and clinics throughout the state to provide treatment. To qualify for care, men must have incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Working with the Department of Health Services, Dr. Mark Litwin, a urologist at UCLA, would head of the program, which would provide nurse case managers to coordinate care and have a "large outreach component," including brochures that are "sensitive to different languages, cultures and levels of literacy." Litwin said, "In the case of people who are underserved, it's not just the lack of coverage that keeps people from getting treatment. It's the lack of access, too" (Swartz, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, 7/5).