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Frankel to outline breast and cervical cancer screening bill during ‘Tickled Pink’ event Sunday
PITTSBURGH, March 7 – State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, chairman of the Allegheny County Democratic Delegation, will outline legislation Sunday he has introduced that would enable low-income women in Pennsylvania to be screened for breast and cervical cancer.
Frankel will discuss the initiative during the annual Tickled Pink event held by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. The event, which honors breast cancer survivors in the area, will be held at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, March 11 at the Pittsburgh Renaissance Hotel, 107 Sixth St. Media coverage is welcome.
More than 500 survivors will attend the event and will be treated to lunch compliments of the hotel, an informative speaker, and a pink goody bag.
“I am always inspired by meeting cancer survivors like the more than 500 women who will be at Tickled Pink, but their stories are also a reminder that there are more lives we can and should save,” Frankel said.
Frankel’s bill (H.B. 49) has 49 cosponsors so far. It would address a loophole – created in the federal Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000 – that allows states to deny Medicaid-funded breast cancer treatment to low-income, uninsured women if their cancer was diagnosed outside of the state screening program network. The Komen foundation is working with states throughout the nation, including most recently South Carolina and Illinois, to close this loophole and ensure that low-income, uninsured women qualify for Medicaid-funded breast cancer treatment regardless of where they were screened.
“Representative Frankel’s measure will save lives,” said Pittsburgh Komen Affiliate Director Jo Ann Meier. “Current law essentially denies certain low-income, uninsured Pennsylvania women with breast cancer access to life-saving treatment based solely on where they were screened. Representative Frankel and Susan G. Komen for the Cure believe that the law must be changed to ensure all women get the treatment they need.
“Representative Frankel is working to make Pennsylvania a leader in women’s health,” Meier continued. “His legislation closes a devastating loophole that was preventing women from being treated for breast cancer. Breast cancer survivors and advocates from throughout the state hope that the legislature and Governor Rendell will promptly enact this measure.”
The bill has been referred to the House Health and Human Services Committee.
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