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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, According to the 2015 National Health Interview
3Survey, among women aged 40 to 64, those who are uninsured have
4the lowest prevalence of mammography use in the past two years
5at only 31 percent compared to 68 percent for women with health
6insurance; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The five-year survival for breast cancer is much
8higher when diagnosed at an early stage, and improvements in
9early detection, screening, and treatment have resulted in a 39
10percent reduction in breast cancer deaths; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The costs of treating advanced stage breast cancer
12are significantly higher than for early stage disease; average
13costs allowed per patient in the two years following a breast
14cancer diagnosis can reach up to $182,655 for stage 4 breast
15cancer, which is 2.5 times the cost of treating stage 0 breast
16cancer; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The American Cancer Society reports that breast
18cancer stage at diagnosis is more advanced in racial and ethnic
19minorities, lower income, and uninsured women, and the
20mortality rate for African American women with breast cancer is
21higher than in white women; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program
2within the Illinois Department of Public Health receives
3funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
4(CDC) National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection
5Program (NBCCEDP), a program that provides low-income
6uninsured and underinsured women access to breast and cervical
7cancer screening and early detection services, along with
8patient navigation, case management, and educational
9information; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The CDC defines health equity as when every person
11has the opportunity to "attain his or her full health
12potential"; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program is
14meeting an unmet need in providing recommended breast cancer
15screening services to low-income uninsured and underinsured
16women, whose mammography uptake has been significantly lower
17compared to those who are insured; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Between 2012-2017, the Illinois Breast and
19Cervical Cancer Program has served 62,167 women; and
 
20    WHEREAS, From 2012-2017, the Illinois Breast and Cervical
21Cancer Program screened 51,795 women for breast cancer with
22mammography and diagnosed 7,030 breast cancers; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Despite its proven success, the program remains
2woefully underfunded; decreased investment at the federal and
3state level has left low-income, uninsured and underinsured
4women without access to services; this lack of funding has
5resulted in less than one in ten eligible women currently
6receiving screenings through NBCCEDP; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program
8raises awareness about the importance of breast cancer
9screening and provides low-income, uninsured and underinsured
10women access to critical cancer control and prevention services
11that they may otherwise not have access to; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Access to these potentially lifesaving screening
13and early detection services provided by the Illinois Breast
14and Cervical Cancer Program should be available to all eligible
15women, consistent with American Cancer Society
16recommendations; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Increased investment for the Illinois Breast and
18Cervical Cancer Program will help Illinois reduce breast cancer
19incidence and mortality, save costs through increasing access
20to screening, diagnostic and treatment services, and reduce
21expensive treatment for late-stage diagnosis; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
2HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program eligibility and
4funding should be broadened to further reduce barriers to
5breast screening, detection and treatment for underserved
6women to improve conditions for women to achieve optimal
7health, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or economic
8status.