If you are a low-income woman and have been diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, you have a much better chance of survival if you live in Maryland. That's because Maryland is one of the first three states to receive approval from the Department of Health and Human Services to expand Medicaid benefits to uninsured women who are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer.

In 2000, Congress passed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act, which was signed into law by President Clinton. The law gives states the option of providing Medicaid coverage for low-income women who are screened and diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer through the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

This new treatment program is for women under age 65, who are uninsured, and who are not Medicaid-eligible. These women are often employed in low-wage jobs that do not offer health insurance and they are forced to rely on the fragile system of charity care for their health care needs. Now, if they are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, it will be much easier for them to receive lifesaving treatment.

Maryland currently provides limited treatment benefits under a state-funded program. This new law will enable Maryland to offer full Medicaid coverage to eligible women beginning in early 2002. Maryland was the first state to apply for this expansion of services, and it was one of the first three states to receive approval from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Under the new option, Maryland will provide full Medicaid benefits to uninsured, low-income women under age 65 who are identified through the CDC's early detection program. To be eligible, women must be in need of treatment for breast or cervical cancer, including pre-cancerous conditions and early stage cancer.

Eligible women may apply for coverage through their local health departments. About 120 women a year are expected to receive this coverage in Maryland. In its first full year, Maryland expects to receive matching funds of up to $1.7 million from the Medicaid program, a significant increase in the amount currently being spent on screening and limited treatment.

Since the CDC early detection program began in 1990, more than 2.7 million breast and cervical cancer screening tests have been provided to more than 1.7 million women. Now, many of these women will be eligible for Medicaid benefits during the duration of their cancer treatment.

If caught in time and treated aggressively, cancer can be cured. This new program gives states the ability to help low-income women survive cervical and breast cancer. Maryland has moved quickly in taking full advantage of this improved treatment option. Hopefully, other states will follow our lead to offer this coverage to their citizens as well.