Komen CEO Paula Schneider & Celebrity Home Life Expert Sandra Lee
Join 250 Breast Cancer Survivors, Patients and Advocates to Call for
Critical Funding and Needed Reforms
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Susan G. Komen®, the world’s leading breast cancer organization,
mobilized more than 250 breast cancer survivors, patients and advocates
to Capitol Hill today to urge Congress to support a variety of issues
important to women and men impacted by breast cancer, including new
legislation introduced yesterday to address the high and varying costs
of breast cancer diagnostic exams. The group was led by Paula Schneider,
Susan G. Komen’s CEO, and celebrity home life expert Sandra Lee, both of
whom are breast cancer survivors.
Millions of women across the country have access to free screening
mammography after the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However,
follow-up exams for those women with suspicious findings on their
mammograms (which can be 10% of all women screened), may result in
thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. For many people, undergoing
a series of diagnostic exams is required, and for those who have
previously been diagnosed with breast cancer, diagnostic tests are often
recommended annually rather than traditional screening.
“Women across the country are delaying, or even foregoing, needed
diagnostic exams due to the high and varying out-of-pocket costs,” said
Schneider. “It does women little good to know they have something
suspicious if they can’t afford the test(s) that will explain the
finding or confirm the need for a biopsy.”
“Solving this barrier to care is key to saving lives,” added Lee. “No
woman should be put in the position of knowing something is wrong, but
unable to do anything about it because of the cost. We can, and must, do
better for the women of this country.”
The bipartisan “Access to Breast Cancer Diagnosis Act,” introduced by
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), would increase access to medically-necessary
diagnostic breast imaging by reducing out-of-pocket costs for patients.
The legislation is co-sponsored by Reps. Colin Allred (D-TX), Brian
Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Peter King (R-NY), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).
From an early detection perspective, a screening mammogram would not be
considered successful if the follow-up diagnostic imaging were not
preformed to rule out breast cancer or confirm the need for a biopsy.
The systematic use of breast cancer screening and follow-up diagnostics
has led to significant increases in the early detection of breast cancer
in the past 20 years.
In addition to the new legislation, Komen advocates stressed the
importance of ensuring parity between insurance coverage of oral
chemotherapy, which often is governed by prescription drug benefit
rules, and traditional IV treatments, as well as expanding the
government’s commitment to funding breast cancer research and vital
safety-net programs, such as the National Breast and Cervical Cancer
Early Detection Program.
About Susan G. Komen®
Susan G. Komen is the world’s largest breast cancer organization,
funding more breast cancer research than any other nonprofit outside of
the federal government while providing real-time help to those facing
the disease. Komen has set a Bold Goal to reduce the current number of
breast cancer deaths by 50 percent in the U.S. by 2026. Since its
founding in 1982, Komen has funded more than $988 million in
breakthrough research and provided more than $2.2 billion in funding to
screening, education, treatment and psychosocial support programs
serving millions of people in more than 60 countries worldwide. Komen
was founded by Nancy G. Brinker, who promised her sister, Susan G.
Komen, that she would end the disease that claimed Suzy’s life. That
promise has become Komen’s promise to all people facing breast cancer.
Visit komen.org
or call 1-877 GO KOMEN. Connect with us on social at ww5.komen.org/social.
Contacts
Sean Tuffnell
Susan G. Komen®
972-855-4382
[email protected]
