THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

PRESIDENT CLINTON'S RADIO ADDRESS TO THE NATION: PRESIDENT CLINTON LAUNCHES NEW EFFORT TO FIGHT COLORECTAL CANCER

Today, in his weekly radio address, President Clinton will launch a new effort to fight colorectal cancer, encourage all Americans over the age of 50 to receive their annual colorectal cancer screening, and celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. He will be joined by cancer advocates from across the country who have come to Washington this weekend to join Katie Couric at a rally against colorectal cancer. The President will announce that the National Cancer Institute will invest $30 million over the next five years to help doctors expand and improve screening procedures for colorectal cancer and address the chronic under-use of these life-saving tools. He will also launch new efforts to educate all Medicare beneficiaries about the importance of preventive care. Finally, the President will challenge Congress to remove major barriers facing Medicare beneficiaries seeking preventive care by, passing legislation to expand Medicare to include more sophisticated colorectal cancer screening tests for people over 50 and enacting the Clinton-Gore A budget proposal to eliminate all cost-sharing requirements for colorectal screening and other preventive procedures under Medicare. The President will also praise Vice President Gore and the First Lady for their long-standing efforts to improve cancer screening, research, treatment and coverage.

COLORECTAL CANCER KILLS THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS EACH YEAR. Although death rates from colorectal cancer are at their lowest point in decades and the risk of developing this disease continues to decline, research demonstrates that more needs to be done.

• Colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the United States. An estimated 130,000 new cases and 56,000 deaths from colorectal cancer are expected in 2000. Americans spend $5 billion a year on treatments for colorectal cancer, which is the second most expensive cancer to treat after prostate cancer.
• Timely screening for colorectal cancer saves lives. Early colorectal cancer is a curable disease. Because colorectal cancers grow slowly, early detection significantly increases survival. When detected early, the five-year survival rate is 90 percent. However, less than 40 percent of colorectal cancers are discovered at that stage. After the cancer has spread, the five-year survival rate drops to 65 percent.
• Recent evidence indicates that aggressive screening of individuals at risk for colon cancer increases the likelihood of early detection by more than 50 percent. There is excellent evidence that regular screening for colorectal cancer saves lives. People over the age of 50 should have a simple stool blood test once a year, and should have a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy every 5 to 10 years. Recent research, although not conclusive, indicates that using colonoscopies to screen individuals over the age of 50 for colon cancer rather than flexible sigmoidoscopy may identify polyps that would otherwise go undetected over half of asymptomatic patients. However, Medicare does not currently reimburse physicians for colonoscopies unless the patient has a family history of colon cancer or is otherwise at risk.
• Screening rates for colorectal cancer are dangerously low, and rates decrease as individuals age. Studies indicate that less than 40 percent of adults over the age of 50 have ever had a sigmoidoscopy. In addition, a recent GAO report indicates that even though Medicare covers colorectal screenings, the use of these tests remains dangerously low. For example, fecal occult blood tests, the least invasive of the screening tests, are supposed to be provided once a year to Americans over the age of 50 -- but less than 10 percent of Medicare beneficiaries received this test in 1999.
• Barriers to proper screening include a lack of patient and provider awareness. A 1997 study indicated that many primary care physicians do not appropriately screen patients for colorectal cancer because of concerns about the effectiveness of screening and misconceptions about patients' willingness to be screened. In addition, many patients are concerned that the screening exam might be unpleasant and are embarrassed to discuss the tests with their physicians.

STRONG NEW ACTION TO FIGHT COLORECTAL CANCER. The President will join cancer advocates from across the country in urging all Americans over 50 to go for colorectal cancer screening and launch a new effort to improve prevention, screening, and treatment of this disease. The President will:

• Announce new Federal investment of $30 million to help doctors expand and improve screening procedures for colorectal cancer and address the chronic under-use of these screenings. The President will announce that the National Cancer Institute will invest $30 million over the next five years to determine best practices for treatment of colorectal cancer, assess why health care providers are underutilizing screening procedures, and develop new ways to encourage health care providers to use the most effective screening tools available. In addition, NCI, together with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, will initiate an expedited review of the advisability of using of colonoscopy as an early screening device.
• Announce new efforts to educate Medicare beneficiaries about the importance of preventive care. Beginning next March, Medicare beneficiaries will receive reminders about the importance of colorectal cancer screenings and other preventive services, in addition to the information on mammography and influenza they already receive, on the Statement of Benefits sent to them every time they use a Medicare service. In addition, Medicare's toll-free hotline will automatically remind seniors about the importance of preventive care when they call for information on their benefits. 1-800-MEDICARE gets over 200,000 calls each month.
• Challenge the Congress to eliminate barriers to Medicare beneficiaries seeking preventive services. The President will endorse bipartisan legislation to provide Medicare reimbursement for colonoscopies provided once every 10 years to beneficiaries over 50. This legislation, estimated to cost $200 million over 10 years by CBO, ensures that Medicare coverage policies are in-line with the latest medical research. Although this proposal does not mandate a particular screening schedule, it ensures that physicians have the option to provide these enhanced screening services. The President will also challenge the Congress to take the next step and eliminate all Medicare cost-sharing for colorectal screening and other preventive procedures.

CHALLENGE THE CONGRESS TO PASS A STRONG, ENFORCEABLE PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS AND TAKE A STAND AGAINST GENETIC DISCRIMINATION. The President will urge the Congress not adjourn before passing a strong, enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights that assures that cancer patients - and all patients - have access to the specialty care they need. He will also challenge them to finish the job begun by the bipartisan Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and pass legislation ensuring that genetic information used to help predict, prevent, and treat disease will not be used to discriminate against Americans seeking employment or health insurance. Studies demonstrate that the fear of discrimination is so pervasive that almost one-third of individuals offered the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial to identify the gene linked with breast cancer declined, citing concerns about discrimination and loss of privacy.

STATE HIS INTENTION TO SIGN INTO A LAW NEW TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR UNINSURED WOMEN WITH BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER. The President will praise the Senate's recent unanimous passage of the Breast and Cervical Treatment Act of 1999 -- legislation providing States with an important new Medicaid coverage option for low-income, uninsured women with breast and cervical cancer. This action virtually assures that the Congress will present the President with legislation that he was pleased to include in this year's budget and that he will be proud to sign into law, and he will urge the Congress to pass the final bill without further delay.

BUILDS ON THE CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION'S LONGSTANDING COMMITMENT TO FIGHTING BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER. The Clinton-Gore Administration has responded to the significant threat posed by cancer with increased efforts in research, prevention and treatment. During the Clinton-Gore Administration, funding for breast and cervical cancer research, prevention and treatment increased from approximately $283 million in FY 1993 to $623 million in FY 2000. President Clinton enacted the Mammography Quality Standards Act to ensure the quality of mammograms. This year, the President announced that Medicare would begin to cover the routine care costs associated with participation in clinical trials, removing a major barrier to study participation. Fighting the spread of this disease has also been a high priority for both Vice President Gore and First Lady Hillary Clinton. Al Gore successfully fought for historic increases in funding for cancer research, prevention and treatment at the National Cancer Institutes during the Clinton-Gore Administration. Hillary Clinton launched the Medicare Mammography Campaign to urge older women to get mammograms and to promote the use of Medicare coverage for mammography and helped develop and implement the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer, a public-private partnership coordinated at the Department of Health and Human Services.

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