(SACRAMENTO, CA) Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus, introduced Assembly Bill 1429 to require health insurers to cover the cost of vaccinating young girls for cervical cancer.

“California has the highest incidence of cervical cancer in the country,” says Evans.  “This bill will help prevent it.  As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Under current 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 1429 would expand that coverage to include cervical cancer vaccination. 

Nearly 70 percent of cervical cancer is caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).  Approximately 20 million American women are infected with HPV.  The recently developed cervical cancer vaccine blocks the development of the two main strains of HPV.  It has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, it is recommended by the Advisory committee on Immunization Practices, and its use is supported by the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute.

“At a time when we are having a broad debate about healthcare reform, we need to take a serious look at improving preventative care,” says Evans.  “Cervical cancer is the second most common form of cancer among women.  We can vaccinate this unfortunate fact away.”

In California, almost 1,100 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year and approximately 400 women will die from the disease.  In the United States, about 10,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year and about 4,000 women die from it.  Approximately $1.7 billion is spent for treatment of cervical cancer nationwide each year.  The vaccine costs about $360.

Cervical cancer disproportionately impacts young women and treatment for the cancer can lead to an inability to have children in life.  Cervical cancer also has a higher rate of incidence among women of color who are less likely to receive the preventative care that they need.

Further information about AB 1429 is available online at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.