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Pink Limo to Deliver Hundreds of Petitions as Treat for Governor
On October 31, Halloween day, breast cancer survivors and volunteers of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) participated in a Breast Cancer Awareness Month event at Lawyer’s Mall. Breast cancer survivors dressed in costume travelled to the State House in a pink limo to deliver hundreds of petitions to the Governor calling on the state to fully fund the Maryland Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program (BCCP).
The Maryland BCCP provides free pap tests to women aged 40 to 64 and mammograms to women aged 40 to 64 who are uninsured, underinsured, and have income below 250 percent of the federal poverty level. Over 60 percent of the women served are racial and ethnic minorities. Between 2007-2012, Maryland’s program detected 271 invasive breast cancers.
Currently, BCCP is severely underfunded and many eligible women do not receive critical cancer screenings. Although the 2013 Maryland General Assembly passed a budget including funding for BCCP, the funding was only at the 2012 funding level of $6.1 million. As established by the Affordable Care Act, the state’s health benefit exchange known as the Maryland Health Connection will provide women with greater access to preventive cancer screenings and treatment. However, gaps still remain for women who will continue to be uninsured or underinsured due to affordability, literacy and language related barriers.
It is estimated that 25,288 women will lack access to breast cancer screenings in 2014. Maintaining funding and eligibility for BCCP will preserve a critical safety net for thousands of Maryland women, who will continue to lack access to essential screening, diagnostic and treatment services in 2014.