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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Cervical cancer is a major problem among older | ||||||
| 3 | women, who deserve
access to the best preventive strategies | ||||||
| 4 | available; women age 65 and older account for nearly 20 percent | ||||||
| 5 | of all new
cervical cancer cases and more than 35 percent of | ||||||
| 6 | all deaths from the
disease, according to the National Cancer | ||||||
| 7 | Institute; the
American Cancer Society reports that 11,150 | ||||||
| 8 | women will be diagnosed with
cervical cancer and 3,670 women | ||||||
| 9 | will die of the disease; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Cervical cancer is caused by the human | ||||||
| 11 | papillomavirus (HPV); studies suggest that HPV testing as part | ||||||
| 12 | of screening offers
women a better level of protection against | ||||||
| 13 | cervical cancer; and
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| 14 | WHEREAS, Cervical cancer can be a devastating disease, yet | ||||||
| 15 | it is preventable; knowing whether an older woman has HPV could | ||||||
| 16 | help determine
whether and how often she should continue to be | ||||||
| 17 | screened; this can help save
older women from the anguish of a | ||||||
| 18 | cervical cancer diagnosis; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, The Pap test, the traditional method of screening | ||||||
| 20 | for cervical cancer,
is approximately 50 to 85 percent | ||||||
| 21 | accurate, depending upon the type of test
used; an HPV test was | ||||||
| 22 | approved by the FDA in 2003 for use with a Pap test
in women age | ||||||
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| 1 | 30 and older; research shows that this approach increases to
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| 2 | nearly 100 percent a clinician's ability to identify women who | ||||||
| 3 | are at
increased risk for cervical cancer and require more | ||||||
| 4 | diligent follow-up
care; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, HPV testing is included in cervical cancer | ||||||
| 6 | screening guidelines from
the American College of | ||||||
| 7 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American
Cancer | ||||||
| 8 | Society; most private insurance companies and state Medicaid
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| 9 | programs already cover HPV testing as part of routine cervical | ||||||
| 10 | cancer
screening for women age 30 and older; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, H.R. 4055, the Medicare Cervical Cancer Screening | ||||||
| 12 | and Detection Coverage Act of 2007, has been introduced in | ||||||
| 13 | Congress; the legislation would require
Medicare to cover | ||||||
| 14 | testing for HPV as part of cervical cancer screening for older | ||||||
| 15 | women; therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 17 | NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 18 | urge the United States Congress to pass H.R. 4055, the Medicare | ||||||
| 19 | Cervical Cancer Screening and Detection Coverage Act of 2007; | ||||||
| 20 | and be it further
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| 21 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 22 | forwarded to each member of the Illinois Congressional | ||||||
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| 1 | delegation.
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