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
© 2002 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
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