Positive steps taken in Iowa’s cancer fight

By Peggy Huppert

Don't let the cynics fool you - our policymakers are getting it done.

In the first few months of 2010, they have helped us make significant strides in our fight against cancer in Iowa and nationwide.

The expansion of IowaCare will have a potentially significant impact on cancer patients and their families. Currently, those enrolled can only receive care at Broadlawns Medical Center if they are a resident of Polk County.

Everyone else from the other 98 counties has only one option: the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Traveling there from the farthest corners of the state can be exhausting for patients and their families.

Thanks to this

legislation, the Iowa Department of Human Services will soon be authorized to begin developing plans for eligible low-income cancer patients to access care in other hospitals and facilities in Iowa.

The Legislature also gave Iowa a head start on establishing the insurance exchange required by national reform. The exchange will provide insurance options for Iowans who are not insured through their employer or participating in a public program.

Not only does national health care reform save lives by ensuring the availability of adequate and affordable coverage, it will eliminate discrimination based on health status and pre-existing conditions and virtually abolish arbitrary limits on annual and lifetime benefits.

It also refocuses efforts on prevention and early detection by requiring most insurance plans to cover preventive measures at little or no cost to patients.

We're seeing solid evidence that prevention is critical to the health of Iowans. A study we released earlier this year shows an average 24 percent decrease in hospital admissions for coronary heart disease since the Smokefree Air Act was enacted.

In another win for prevention, state policymakers kept funding for vital tobacco and cancer control programs relatively stable in a tough economic year.

Clinical trials are the only way to develop more effective cancer treatments, and policymakers abolished one barrier to participation that may help us find a cure and treat more patients: requiring insurance coverage of routine health care costs associated with participating in clinical trials.

We've just scratched the surface of what we need to do to win the battle against cancer, but we should celebrate each important victory along the way.

Peggy Huppert is Iowa Director of Government Relations, American Cancer Society, Midwest Division, Des Moines. Comments: Peggy.Huppert@cancer.org