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The Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program (DOD BCRP)
has secured a separate earmark of $127.5 million for FY 2006.
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January 2006 IlliNOISY News
Wishing you a prosperous New Year!
The latest news from the Y-ME IlliNOISY Advocacy Network, a day delayed due to
the holiday. Watch for the most recent edition in your inbox the first Tuesday
of each month!
IN THIS ISSUE:
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Don't miss the 2006 NBCCF Annual Advocacy Training Conference!
April 29 - May 2, 2006
Washington, DC
Scholarships are available from both NBCC and Y-ME Illinois!
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Breast Cancer Research Program Funding Secured
Priority #2: $150 million dollar appropriation for the Department of Defense
(DoD) peer-reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) for fiscal year (FY)
2006
The DoD Appropriations bill was finally passed in late December and the Department
of Defense (DoD) Peer-reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) will be funded
$127.5 million for FY2006, $22.5 million less than FY2005. While this is less
than the $150 million requested by breast cancer advocates, during this time of
budget-tightening, it is a victory that the program was left intact with it's
own separate earmark.
More Sponsors Added to Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act
Priority #3: Enactment of the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act (H.R. 2231 / S.
757)
The Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act (S. 757 / H.R. 2231) now has 185 House cosponsors and 62 Senate cosponsors. This legislation will
authorize $30 million for five years to the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences to establish multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research centers
to study potential links between the environment and breast cancer.
NBCC recently launched the Less Pink, More Research Campaign to continue building support for this important priority. You can help us by
participating in this outreach campaign and helping "Spread the Word" by forwarding
the email on to others in your address book. The website is www.lesspinkmoreresearch.org.
Illinois Members of Congress Who Have NOT Co-Sponsored H.R. 2231 / S. 757
~ Sen. Dick Durbin (D)
~ Sen. Barack Obama (D)
~ Rep. Henry Hyde (R-06)
~ Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-14)
~ Rep. Timothy Johnson (R-15)
~ Rep. Lane Evans (D-17)*
~ Rep. John Shimkus (R-19)
*Co-sponsored this legislation in the last congress.
If you know someone who lives in the 17th Congressional District of Illinois
(Moline, Quincy, Macomb) ask them to join the Advocacy Network - we need help
getting Rep. Evans to sign on to this bill!
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23,774 and counting – 50,000 are needed - have you enrolled yet? THE SISTER
STUDY NEEDS YOU! The number is growing but more are needed. This study is for those who have
a sister who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
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Smoke-Free Chicago Passes!
In early Dcember, the Chicago City Council agreed by a vote of 46-1 to ban smoking
in all bars and restaurants over the next two and half years. This historic vote
will mark the end of an era of smoke-filled bars and restaurants in Chicago.
Thank you to all the volunteers and supporters of Smoke-Free Chicago who helped
persuade the City Council to vote and pass the clean indoor air ordinance with
thousands of phone calls, letters and emails. Your resolve and collective voice
was indeed powerful. This couldn't have been accomplished without you.
While we applaud the nature of the ordinance, we also pause to express disappointment
and concern that some workers will not enjoy smoke-free air until 2008.
Smoke-Free Chicago is just the beginning. Already we see communities across Illinois
willing to take on secondhand smoke. For instance, Cook County is now considering
passing a comprehensive clean indoor air law. With your support, we're compelled
to go the distance – because saving lives is the right thing to do.
Some Pharmacists Encounter Problems Filling Medicare Beneficiaries' Prescriptions
as Drug Benefit Begins
Difficulties with enrollment verification, computer glitches and other problems
with the launch of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit on Monday led to
delays in prescriptions for many beneficiaries, USA Today reports. According to CMS, more than one million Medicare beneficiaries have obtained prescriptions since
the prescription drug benefit took effect, but the problems with the program "are
forcing thousands of people to get by on short doses or pay out-of-pocket for
their drugs," the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Don't miss the Health Care Justice Act Public Hearing happening in your district!
Come to the hearing - this is YOUR chance to be part of the health care solution
in Illinois!
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Hospitals Making Improvements in Patient Safety, Still Have Long Way To Go, Study
Says
Many U.S. hospitals have not taken important steps to prevent medical errors,
according to a study published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Washington Post reports. For the study, researchers from a coalition of professional health
organizations surveyed 107 hospitals in Missouri and Utah in 2002 and 2004 and
analyzed responses to 91 questions in seven areas. The study, funded by the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality, finds that about two-thirds of respondents
had fully implemented computerized physician order entry systems for laboratory
or radiology tests in 2004, an increase of only a few percentage points from 2002.
Read more.
New Illinois Law Will Require Hospitals to Report 24 Types of Medical Errors
The Chicago Sun-Times recently examined an Illinois law due to take effect on
1/1/08, that will require hospitals and surgery centers in the state to publicly
admit if they commit any of the 24 types of "never events" - "inexcuseable hospital
foul-ups that should never occur but happen all too often." Read more.
More Clinical Trial Information Available on Federal Web Site, But Sometimes
Incomplete
Pharmaceutical companies are providing more required information about clinical
trials on a federal Web site but are withholding the names of drugs being tested
and the main outcomes being measured in some cases, according to a study published
Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the AP/Boston Globe reports. Read more.
Senate Passes Genetic Nondiscrimination Bill
The Senate passed S.306, a bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect
to health insurance and employment. H.R. 1227 is the House version and now has 162 cosponsors but has not been
brought to the floor for a vote. With increasing genetic research it is important
that patients be protected against both employment and health insurance discrimination.
Recently Introduced Legislation:
H.R. 4540 (introduced 12/14/05 by Rep. Jerrold Nadler) - Requires that group and individual
health insurance coverage and group health plans provide coverage for annual screen
mammography for women 40 years of age or older if the coverage or plans include
coverage for diagnostic mammography. There are 50 cosponsors at this time.
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Project LEAD® is a science training course designed to help breast cancer activists influence
research & public policy processes. Learn more!
Upcoming Project LEAD Dates and Locations:
Houston, TX (Basic), Mar. 22-26, 2006 - Apply deadline Jan. 22, 2006
San Jose, CA (Quality Care), Aug. 2-6, 2006 - Apply deadline Jun. 2, 2006
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~ Four in five businesses (79%) that now provide retiree health benefits will
accept government subsidies for continuing to provide retiree drug coverage at
least as good as Medicare’s coverage when the new drug benefit starts in 2006,
according to a new survey of 300 of the nation’s largest private-sector employers
conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates.
~ According to a Families USA study, prescription drug prices under the new Medicare
drug benefit are considerably higher than prices negotiated by the Department
of Veterans Affairs.
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Y-ME Ilinois
203 N. Wabash, Suite 1220
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 364-9071, ext. 19
Fax: (312) 364-90066
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