Text: SCR00117 Text: SCR00119 Text: SCR00100 - SCR00199 Text: SCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN 1 1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___ 1 2 BY LUNDBY 1 3 A Concurrent Resolution supporting enactment of 1 4 Medicare coverage of oral cancer drugs. 1 5 WHEREAS, cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and 1 6 mortality in the State of Iowa and throughout the 1 7 nation; and 1 8 WHEREAS, cancer is disproportionately a disease of 1 9 the elderly, with more than half of all cancer 1 10 diagnoses occurring in persons age sixty-five or 1 11 older, who are dependent on the federal Medicare 1 12 program for provision of cancer care; and 1 13 WHEREAS, while treatment with anticancer drugs is 1 14 the cornerstone of modern cancer care and elderly 1 15 cancer patients must have access to potentially life- 1 16 extending drug therapy, the Medicare program's 1 17 coverage of drugs is limited to injectable drugs or 1 18 oral drugs that have an injectable version; and 1 19 WHEREAS, the nation's investment in biomedical 1 20 research has begun to bear fruit with a compelling 1 21 array of new oral anticancer drugs that are less 1 22 toxic, more effective, and more cost-effective than 1 23 existing therapies, but, because such drugs do not 1 24 have an injectable equivalent, they are not covered by 1 25 Medicare; and 1 26 WHEREAS, noncoverage of these important new 1 27 products leaves many Medicare beneficiaries confronted 1 28 with the choice of either substantial out-of-pocket 1 29 personal costs or selection of more toxic, less 1 30 effective treatments that are covered by the program; 2 1 and 2 2 WHEREAS, Medicare's failure to cover oral 2 3 anticancer drugs leaves at-risk many program 2 4 beneficiaries suffering from blood-related cancers 2 5 such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, as well as 2 6 cancers of the breast, lung, and prostate; and 2 7 WHEREAS, certain members of the United States 2 8 Congress have recognized the necessity of Medicare 2 9 coverage for all oral anticancer drugs and introduced 2 10 legislation to achieve that result; NOW THEREFORE, 2 11 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF 2 12 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the General Assembly 2 13 of the State of Iowa respectfully urges the United 2 14 States Congress to adopt legislation requiring the 2 15 Medicare program to cover all oral anticancer drugs; 2 16 and 2 17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this 2 18 Resolution be sent by the Secretary of the Senate to 2 19 the President of the United States, the President of 2 20 the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United 2 21 States House of Representatives, the United States 2 22 secretary of Health and Human Services, the 2 23 Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 2 24 Services of the United States Department of Health and 2 25 Human Services, and the members of Iowa's 2 26 congressional delegation. 2 27 LSB 7211SS 79 2 28 rn/pj
Text: SCR00117 Text: SCR00119 Text: SCR00100 - SCR00199 Text: SCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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