Enrollment Restrictions For California Breast Cancer Screening Program Lead To Reduced Services

Many California mammography clinics and mobile care units have suspended or reduced services since the state's Every Woman Counts program halted enrollment and raised age eligibility requirements for no-cost breast cancer screenings and diagnostic services, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports. The California Department of Public Health imposed a temporary enrollment freeze from Jan. 1 to July 1 to reduce the number of mammogram beneficiaries to 259,000 this fiscal year, from 311,000 last year.

DPH also increased the minimum age for program participants from 40 to 50, mirroring recent U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce guidelines stating that most women should begin screenings at age 50, rather than 40. According to Sean Tuffnell, a public policy expert for the Susan Komen Foundation for the Cure, California is the only state that has adjusted its mammogram eligibility rules since the recommendations were issued.

Several clinics and mobile care units reported drops in patient volume since the program changes. For example, the Elizabeth Center for Cancer Detection in Los Angeles reported a 34% decrease in its patient load during the first three months of 2010. The clinic temporarily closed in April but now offers services three days per week. CEO Don Cook said the clinic faces permanent closure at the end of May.

Mobile Mammography Screening President Deborah Wright said she laid off all of her 40 mammography technicians and suspended service at her 11 mobile units after the program changes. The mobile clinics screened 1,600 patients in January, down from a monthly average of 6,250 patient screenings in 2009.

For fiscal year 2009-2010, Every Woman Counts received $61.3 million in funding, a nearly $10 million increase from the previous fiscal year. However, officials said the funding reflected a one-time budget boost from an unspent tax and did not cover cost increases.

State Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D) has introduced a bill (SB 836) that would reinstate funding for the program. The legislation is before the state Senate Appropriations Committee (Mohajer, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 5/9).


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