| WASHINGTON,
D.C. – A bipartisan group of Illinois members today called on Governor
Ryan to take advantage of a recent bill singed into law that will help
low income women with cervical and breast cancer.
In
a letter organized by U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), the members
wrote that the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act “…is a landmark
bill that can significantly improve women’s health by expanding access
to care for the treatment of breast and cervical cancer. We were
proud to support this bill and are writing to ask that you act now to ensure
that Illinois takes advantage of the opportunities it provides.”
The
added, “We urge you to take the next steps necessary to participate in
this new, life-saving initiative by having the Department of Public Aid
develop a plan immediately to enroll Illinois and by working with our legislature
to approve the plan and appropriate the necessary funds.”
The
letter to Governor Ryan along with a list of signers is below.
December 15, 2000
The
Honorable George H. Ryan
Office
of the Governor
207
State Capitol
Springfield,
Illinois 60706
Dear
Governor Ryan:
On
October 24, the bipartisan Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act, was
signed into law. H.R. 4386 is a landmark bill that can significantly
improve women’s health by expanding access to care for the treatment of
breast and cervical cancer. We were proud to support this bill and
are writing to ask that you act now to ensure that Illinois takes advantage
of the opportunities it provides.
The
Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act gives Illinois the option of providing
Medicaid coverage to low-income women who are screened and diagnosed with
breast and cervical cancer through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer
Early Detection Program. Many women, often working in low wage jobs
that do not offer health insurance, face great difficulties in obtaining
the medical care that they need in order to survive. With enactment
of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act, they are now one step
closer to having access to lifesaving treatment. The new law provides
an enhanced match – identical to that of the Children’s Health Insurance
Program (CHIP) -- as an incentive to enroll in the treatment program.
In addition, our participation in this program will likely result in decreased
state costs since many women screened and diagnosed in the program are
currently being treated with state funds, such as in public hospitals.
We
urge you to take the next steps necessary to participate in this new, life-saving
initiative by having the Department of Public Aid develop a plan immediately
to enroll Illinois and by working with our legislature to approve the plan
and appropriate the necessary funds. As you may know, there is an
effort to have as many states as possible enroll in the treatment program
by Mothers Day 2001. We hope that Illinois will be one of the states
to do so, and we will do whatever we can to help you meet that goal.
We
look forward to working with you to provide women in our state with access
to high-quality treatment.
Sincerely,
Jan
Schakowsky
John Shimkus
Member
of Congress Member of Congress
Lane
Evans
Ray LaHood
Member
of Congress Member of Congress
Bobby
L. Rush
Philip M. Crane
Member
of Congress Member of Congress
Rod
R. Blagojevich Judy Biggert
Member
of Congress Member of Congress
Jerry
F. Costello
David D. Phelps
Member
of Congress Member of Congress |
