State freezes free women’s cancer test program

Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health announced that beginning Jan. 1st, the “Every Woman Counts” program will stop accepting new enrollments, at least through July 2.

The program has been at risk in recent years, as tobacco tax revenues have steadily declined. State officials were able to backfill cuts last fiscal year through other means, but  this year – with the state facing a projected $20.7 billion deficit through June 2011 – the decline in tax revenue and the increase in demand have left health officials no choice.

The cuts will leave an estimated 100,000 poverty-stricken women unable to get cancer screenings over the next six months. An article on this appeared in the SF Chronicle on Sunday December 6th.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/06/BAUM1AV3R2.DTL