HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 05012001 - C.25 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contrae�-49:5
-� Costa
FROM: John Sweeten, County Administrator
DATE: May 1, 2001 County
SUBJECT: SB 224 ( Speier) - Support
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. SUPPORT SB 224 (Speier) which extends Medicaid coverage for treatment of breast
cancer.
2. REQUEST the County Lobbyist to appropriately communicate the Board's position on SB
224.
BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Contra Costa County 2001 Legislative program includes the following platform position:
Continue to support efforts to increase funding for breast cancer awareness, public education
and treatment and to ensure equitable of resources for awareness and education efforts
among county public health departments.
Breast cancer is the most common serious cancer of women, and its incidence has been rising in
the United States, California, and Contra Costa County. While we do not know how to prevent
breast cancer, we do know that early detection and proper treatment greatly increases a women's
chance for surviving this disease.
Since 1995 Contra Costa Health Services and community partners have been operating the Breast
Cancer Early Detection Program (BCEDP), which provides clinical breast exams and screening and
diagnostic mammography for low income or uninsured women in Contra Costa. Unfortunately, there
is no corresponding program to provide treatment of these newly diagnosed, uninsured women.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES NO SIGNATURE: di
V&ECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMI ~^-
,/APPROVE OTHER
M1
SIGNATURE(S):
ACTION OF BO RD N May 1, 2001 APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED XX OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT
COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE
XX UNANIMOUS(ABSENT — — — — — — ) MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE
AYES: NOES: SHOWN.
ABSENT: ABSTAIN:
ATTESTED May 1, 2001
CONTACT: Wendel Brunner,MD,Public Health Director(313-6712) JOHN SWEETEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
CC: William Walker,MD,HSD Director,20 Allen,Martinez
Wendel Brunner,MD,Public Health Administration at
597 Center Avenue,#200,Martinez
BY ,DEPUTY
Contra Costa Health Services has been working with the statewide Breast and Gynecologic Cancer
Treatment Task Force and members of the Legislature to craft a comprehensive legislative solution
to this problem. The result is SB 224, introduced by Senator Jackie Speier. SB 224 also takes
advantage of recent federal legislation to provide Medicaid funding for women diagnosed with
breast and cervical cancer through the federal-funded Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program
(BCCCP). Governor Davis has included $20 million in his budget to fund an appropriate treatment
program, when the program is passed by the Legislature.
SB 224 will be a great benefit to Contra Costa County and the State of California. SB 224 is
comprehensive, provides services to all residents of California, and builds on the existing system of
Medi-Cal, Medicaid, and Family PACT providers that serve many of the women at risk in Contra
Costa. As a local health department, Contra Costa Health Services is responsible for promoting
and protecting the health of all women who live, work, or raise their families in our communities.
The guarantee of treatment offered through SB 224 will lower the barriers to cancer screening,
particularly for poor, minority, and uninsured women who die disproportionately from that disease.
By paying for services to all residents of California, SB 224 will assist Contra Costa County by
providing a funding stream for many of the uninsured women with cancer treated now by Contra
Costa Health Services.