[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15965]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE PROSTATE CANCER MEDICAID COVERAGE ACT OF 2009

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 23, 2009

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today I introduce a bill to allow 
treatment using Medicaid funds for men who are diagnosed with prostate 
cancer. This bill mirrors the measure that Congress enacted in 1999 to 
help low-income women who would otherwise not qualify for Medicaid, 
despite being diagnosed with breast cancer or cervical cancer. Congress 
found that women responded in large numbers to efforts by government 
and others to encourage early diagnosis using mammography after the 
Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act was enacted in 
1990. However, in 1999 Congress recognized that, because the screening 
did not provide coverage of treatment for women above the poverty 
level, the screening legislation had the tragic but unintended 
consequence of informing these women of a serious disease that demanded 
immediate treatment but leaving them without the means to seek that 
treatment. Later, Congress amended Title XIX of the Social Security Act 
to provide medical assistance for the women screened and found to have 
breast or cervical cancer under a federally funded screening program.
  In today's bill, I have endeavored to provide the same relief for 
men. This bill allows men, earning up to 250% of the poverty level, who 
are diagnosed with prostate cancer through a federal screening program 
for prostate cancer, to qualify for treatment using Medicaid funds. The 
program would target men who are low-income, uninsured or underinsured 
who, nevertheless, do not qualify for Medicaid.
  Prostate cancer outranks breast cancer as the second most common 
occurring cancer in the U.S. and the second leading cause of cancer-
related deaths. However, diagnosing this cancer is often less 
expensive, and unlike breast cancer, often does not require immediate 
treatment. Prostate cancer treatment does not require invasive surgery 
in many instances. Many prostate cases can be diagnosed with a simple 
Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test unlike the more costly high 
technology mammography machines used to detect breast cancer. Many men 
are advised to wait and watch for the development of the disease before 
seeking treatment.
  However the rate of cancer deaths coupled with available treatment is 
strong evidence that many lives could be saved at considerably less 
expense if early detection and treatment were more available. Although 
race is a factor, every man over the age of 50 is at risk of developing 
prostate cancer and should be screened. Veterans that have been exposed 
to Agent Orange also have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer. 
Many doctors recommend yearly screening for men over age 50, and some 
advise men who are at a higher risk for prostate cancer to begin 
screening at age 40 or 45. Many Black men are at the highest risk of 
prostate cancer--it tends to start at younger ages and grows faster 
than in men of other races. Currently, Medicare provides coverage for 
an annual PSA test for all men age 50 and older, but many still do not 
fall within existing requirements to receive Medicaid.
  This bill is especially necessary in today's tough economic climate 
where more and more men are becoming unemployed and falling below the 
poverty line. We cannot expect them to get screened for a disease that 
they cannot afford to treat. We must act on the lesson we learned from 
the 1999 passage of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention 
Act and fund treatment for this cancer.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in establishing this program 
guaranteeing treatment for men diagnosed with prostate cancer. It will 
meet an immediate and pressing need in communities across the country, 
and across racial and class lines.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.

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