(SACRAMENTO, CA) The Senate Health Committee passed Assembly Bill (AB) 16 authored by Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) to require health plans and insurers to cover the cost of vaccinating young women against the virus causing cervical cancer.
Last year, Evans authored AB 1429 which included the same coverage mandate. It had extensive support from the medical community and passed the Legislature with bipartisan support but the governor vetoed it.
"I hope the governor sees things differently this year," said Evans. "This is a common sense update to our laws regulating women´s health care options. Requiring vaccination coverage will assure that more young women can get vaccinated. This will save lives from being needlessly lost."
Under current state law, health plans and insurers that include coverage for the treatment or surgery of cervical cancer must also provide coverage for an annual cervical cancer screening test. AB 16 expands that coverage to include vaccination for the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cases of cervical cancer.
"Without this bill, all women cannot benefit from preventative care options now available," added Evans. "Current law only requires coverage for girls sixteen years or younger in group plans or insurance policies. It fails to protect millions of Californian women within the full age range recommended for receiving the vaccine."
Administration of the HPV vaccine occurs in three doses over six months and costs about $360. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the vaccine for young women between the ages of 11-26. The vaccine is 98 percent effective when administered to patients with no prior HPV exposure.
Billions of dollars are spent in the United States each year on treatment of HPV-caused diseases. The American Cancer Society estimates that 11,070 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2008. In California, almost 1,400 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and nearly 400 will die from it. California has the highest incidence of cervical cancer in the country.
Cervical cancer disproportionately impacts young women and treatment for the cancer can lead to an inability to have children. Latino women are most likely to get cervical cancer and African-American women are most likely to die from it.
The bill passed 7-3 and moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further review. Further information about AB 16 is available online at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.
Last year, Evans authored AB 1429 which included the same coverage mandate. It had extensive support from the medical community and passed the Legislature with bipartisan support but the governor vetoed it.
"I hope the governor sees things differently this year," said Evans. "This is a common sense update to our laws regulating women´s health care options. Requiring vaccination coverage will assure that more young women can get vaccinated. This will save lives from being needlessly lost."
Under current state law, health plans and insurers that include coverage for the treatment or surgery of cervical cancer must also provide coverage for an annual cervical cancer screening test. AB 16 expands that coverage to include vaccination for the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cases of cervical cancer.
"Without this bill, all women cannot benefit from preventative care options now available," added Evans. "Current law only requires coverage for girls sixteen years or younger in group plans or insurance policies. It fails to protect millions of Californian women within the full age range recommended for receiving the vaccine."
Administration of the HPV vaccine occurs in three doses over six months and costs about $360. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the vaccine for young women between the ages of 11-26. The vaccine is 98 percent effective when administered to patients with no prior HPV exposure.
Billions of dollars are spent in the United States each year on treatment of HPV-caused diseases. The American Cancer Society estimates that 11,070 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2008. In California, almost 1,400 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and nearly 400 will die from it. California has the highest incidence of cervical cancer in the country.
Cervical cancer disproportionately impacts young women and treatment for the cancer can lead to an inability to have children. Latino women are most likely to get cervical cancer and African-American women are most likely to die from it.
The bill passed 7-3 and moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further review. Further information about AB 16 is available online at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.
