How is the Government Helping to Reduce Breast Cancer?

In 1990, to improve women’s access to screening for breast and cervical cancers, Congress passed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act. This Act guided the Centers for Disease Control in creating the NBCCED, a program for detecting breast cancer in low-income, uninsured and under served women. The NBCCEDP provides screening support in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 4 U. S. territories and 13 American Indian/Alaska Native tribes or tribal organizations. The services offered in this program are:

• Clinical breast examinations

• Mammograms

• Diagnostic testing for women whose screening outcome is abnormal

• Surgical consultation

• Referrals to treatment.

Since 1991 the NBCCEDP has provided more than 6.9 million screening examinations and diagnosed more than 29,900 breast cancers. In 2000 Congress passed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act which gives states the option to offer women in the NBCCEDP program access to treatment through Medicaid. As of this date, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have approved this Medicaid option. Local doctors, county or state health
departments can provide information about how to enroll in these programs.