T H E   W H I T E   H O U S E

President Clinton and First Lady Promote Screenings and Treatment for Breast, Cervical and Other Cancers

Help Site Map Text Only

/WH/html/briefroom.html

President Clinton and First Lady Promote Screenings and Treatment for Breast, Cervical and Other Cancers

Highlights the Administration's Strong Record on Women and Children's Health

January 4, 2001

Today, President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will join advocates for women and families in a White House ceremony celebrating the enactment of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Act of 2000. The President will announce that the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) is releasing new guidance today to all 50 states advising them of how they can provide this important new health insurance option for thousands of low-income, uninsured women with breast cancer. President Clinton also will release an executive memorandum directing all Federal agencies to make at least four hours of leave available each year for employees to receive important health screenings for cancer and other preventable diseases. In addition, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will highlight the recently enacted Children's Health Act of 2000, which promotes research on children's health issues, as the latest step in the Administration's strong record on women and children's health.

TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR LOW-INCOME UNINSURED WOMEN DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST OR CERVICAL CANCER ARE LIMITED. The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides breast and cervical cancer screening to over 360,000 women without access to these services annually. Although Federal government-sponsored screening programs make every effort to assist individuals diagnosed with disease to access treatment, thousands of women still face financial barriers to care, and those that receive some help frequently do not receive comprehensive coverage for services they need.

PRESIDENT CLINTON ENCOURAGES STATES TO PROVIDE NEW INSURANCE OPTION FOR VULNERABLE WOMEN WITH BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER. Today, the President will announce that HCFA is sending guidance to all 50 states encouraging them to take advantage of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Act of 2000. This new option, which costs $995 million over 10 years and was originally included in the President's FY 2001 Budget, will allow states to provide women diagnosed with cancer through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program with access to insurance that covers critical treatment services. The guidance being issued today will clarify that the new law will:

  • Provide immediate, comprehensive health insurance to low-income, uninsured women diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer. States have the option to provide the full Medicaid benefit package, at an enhanced Federal matching rate, to uninsured women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. The women will be eligible for this benefit throughout the duration of their treatment, eliminating financial barriers to medical care for these women. These women will be able to access critical health care services necessary to treat their cancer, including radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and other health care services, such as basic laboratory and palliative care services, in order to provide a high quality standard of care to these patients.
  • Allow women to access life saving treatment without delay. The guidance will make clear that states also have the option to allow health care providers and other qualified entities to provide critical health care services to women pending official enrollment in Medicaid, increasing the chances of survival for these women and allowing them to focus on fighting these terrible diseases – not about how they will pay for their care.
  • Result in increased state spending on breast and cervical cancer screening programs. Some states currently supplement the Federal funds they receive for breast and cervical cancer with their own funds for diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. Estimates indicate that, under similar proposals, states would redirect these funds to supplement their investment in screening for breast and cervical cancer, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of mammograms and pap smears provided.

UNDETECTED AND UNTREATED CANCER CONTINUE TO HARM AMERICANS. Despite recent improvements in prevention and treatment, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States. For women age 50-69, regular mammograms can reduce the chance of death from breast cancer by approximately 30 percent. Even in women age 40-50, regular mammograms can reduce mortality rates by approximately 17 percent. Because colorectal cancers grow slowly, early detection significantly increases survival. When detected early, the five-year survival rate is 90 percent. However, less than 40 percent of colorectal cancers are discovered at that stage. After the cancer has spread, the five-year survival rate drops to 65 percent. Preventive screenings and early detection, however, are not effective if patients cannot afford the treatment. Women without health insurance are 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than insured women since they are likely to get needed care.

PRESIDENT CLINTON TAKES NEW EXECUTIVE ACTION TO EXPAND ACCESS TO PREVENTIVE CARE FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. Today, President Clinton will issue an executive memorandum that ensures that all 1.8 million Federal employees have access to leave benefits enabling them to access preventive screenings. This executive memorandum, which is another contribution towards the Administration's success in making the Federal government a model employer, will direct all Federal departments and agencies to:

  • Ensure that all Federal employees have at least four hours of leave available annually for preventive screenings. The President will direct agencies to encourage employees to take advantage of screening programs and other preventive health services through options like promoting alternative work schedules; granting leave under the sick and annual leave programs; and granting excused absence to employees to participate in agency-sponsored preventive health activities. In addition, for employees with fewer than two weeks of accrued sick leave, agencies will provide up to four hours of excused absence each year, without loss of pay or charge to leave, for participation in preventive health screenings.
  • Develop and expand worksite health promotion and disease prevention programs. Recognizing that the workplace is an effective place to provide information on preventive health care, the President will ask Federal agencies to develop or expand programs that help employees understand their risks for disease, obtain preventive health services, and make healthy lifestyle choices. Program information will be shared with the Office of Personnel Management, which will promote best practices.

PRESIDENT CLINTON AND FIRST LADY HILLARY CLINTON HIGHLIGHT NEW INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH AND TREATMENT FOR CHILDREN'S HEALTH. Today, the President and First Lady will highlight the importance of the Children's Health Act of 2000. This important legislation expand, and coordinates research, prevention, and treatment activities for conditions having a significant impact on children, including autism, diabetes, asthma, hearing loss, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, infant mortality, lead poisoning, and oral health. The legislation: establishes eight Centers of Excellence to promote research on the cause, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, and treatment of autism; promotes training of pediatric specialists; authorizes new research provisions, including a long-term child development study on environmental influences on children's health and a loan repayment program at NIH for health professionals doing pediatric research; and authorizes the Healthy Start program for the first time.

THE CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION'S STRONG RECORD ON WOMEN'S HEALTH. The Clinton-Gore Administration has a strong record on women and children's health issues. The Administration has worked tirelessly to improve women's health, including ensuring the inclusion of women in clinical trials, more than doubling funding for breast cancer research, expanding Medicare coverage of mammograms, ending drive-through deliveries, and passing and reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Administration also has taken strong steps to protect a woman's right to choose and promote women's reproductive health by securing historic increases in domestic and international family planning funding, providing contraceptive coverage to more than a million women covered by federal health plans, reversing the gag rule, and enacting the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE).


President and First Lady | Vice President and Mrs. Gore
Record of Progress | The Briefing Room
Gateway to Government | Contacting the White House
White House for Kids | White House History
White House Tours | Help | Text Only

Privacy Statement

What's New at the White House

What's New - December 2000

What's New - November 2000

What's New - October 2000

What's New - September 2000

What's New - July 2000

What's New - June 2000

What's New - May 2000

What's New - April 2000

What's New - March 2000

What's New - February 2000

What's New - January 2000

What's New Archives 1997-1999

What's New Archives: 1994-1996

Presidential Webcast: Meeting the Challenge of Global Warming

President Clinton Joins International Religious and Domestic Aids Policy Leaders to Mark World Aids Day

Urging Congress to Keep its Commitment and Complete this Year's Education Budget

To Implement Title V of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 and to Modify the Generalized System of Preferences

Preserving America's Coral Reefs

Human Rights Day: The Eleanor Roosevelt Award and The Presidential Medal of Freedom

President Clinton Launches New Effort to Increase Immunization Rates Among Children

President Clinton and Vice President Gore: Restoring an American Natural Treasure

Progress in Efforts to Combat International Crime

President Clinton's New Markets Initiative: Revitalizing America's Underserved Communities

President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and Congressional Democrats Win a Landmark Budget

Announcing Welfare Reform Achievements and Budget Wins for America's Families

President Clinton Issues Strong New Consumer Protections to Ensure the Privacy of Medical Records

Enacting a Budget that Invests in Education, Health Care, and America'

President Clinton Appoints Roger Gregory to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

President Clinton Announces New Steps to Improve Nutrition and Education for Children in Developing Countries

The United States on Track to Pay Off the Debt by End of the Decade

President Clinton: Strengthening the Federal Government-University Research Partnership

Keeping the Heat and Lights On During Unusually Cold Weather

President Clinton and First Lady Promote Screenings and Treatment for Breast, Cervical and Other Cancers

Strengthening and Supporting the Military

President Clinton: Strong Action to Preserve America's Forests

Protecting America's Natural Treasures

President Clinton: Raising the Minimum Wage -- An Overdue Pay Raise for America's Working Families

President Clinton Awards the Presidential Citizens Medals

President Clinton Unveils the Completion of the FDR Memorial and Honors FDR's Legacy

Highlights of the 2001 Economic Report of the President

Prevention Resources For America

President Clinton Honors Martin Luther King Through Words and Deeds

New Efforts to Fight Sweatshops and Child Labor Around the World & Put A More Human Face on the

Leadership for the New Millennium -- A Record of Digital Progress and Prosperity

President Clinton: Celebrating the Legacy of Lewis and Clark and Preserving America's Natural Treasures