(SACRAMENTO, CA) Late yesterday, the Assembly Committee on Health passed a bill authored by Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus, that requires health plans and insurers to cover the cost of vaccinating young girls for cervical cancer.

AB 1429 passed on partisan lines with Democrats in support.  It now passes on to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations for further review.

“Our nation’s War Against Cancer began decades ago,” says Evans.  “With a vaccine against the virus causing cervical cancer, the second most prevalent cancer affecting women, we have a historic opportunity to improve women’s health.”

Under current state 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 vaccination for the human papillomavirus (HPV).

This year, in California, almost 1,600 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and nearly 400 will die.  This makes California the state with the highest incidence of cervical cancer in the country.

“We can reduce the gruesomeness of these statistics by helping women access the vaccine,” adds Evans.  “My legislation offers us an opportunity to help women, especially Latino women who are most likely to get cervical cancer and African-American women who are most likely to die from it.”

HPV causes most cases of cervical cancer.  It also causes genital warts and other cancers affecting sexual organs.  Billions are spent in the U.S. each year on treatment of HPV-cased diseases.

“Preventative care options are a major component of California’s ongoing debate about healthcare reform,” adds Evans.  “Vaccination is an ideal way to improve preventative care options for cervical cancer.”

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.