AB 1219: California Cancer Task Force.

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Under existing law the State Department of Health Care Services is required to develop and maintain the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program to expand and ensure quality breast and cervical cancer treatment for low-income uninsured and underinsured individuals who are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, and is required to develop and implement a program to provide quality prostate cancer treatment for low-income and uninsured men. The State Department of Public Health is required to perform various public health functions, including providing for breast and cervical cancer screening services.

This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Public Health to convene a joint California Cancer Task Force to coordinate the agencies efforts to address the most prevalent forms of cancer in California with specific goals, as provided.

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The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:

(a)The American Cancer Societys Cancer Prevention Study3 recruited over 300,000 adults across the United States to help better understand the genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that cause or prevent cancer.

(b)In 2014, scientists estimated that in California more than 1,382,200 people would live with a history of cancer, nearly 156,000 would be diagnosed with cancer, and more than 56,000 would die of cancer.

(c)From 1988 to 2010, cancer incidence rates in California declined by 9 percent.

(d)Despite these improvements, it is estimated nearly one in two Californians born today will develop cancer at some point in their lives, and it is likely that one in five will die of the disease.

(e)The exact reasons why one individual develops cancer, and another individual with very similar life experiences does not, are beyond scientific understanding. Just as there are many different types of cancers, there are many factors that contribute to an individuals risk of developing cancer.

(f)The goal of the American Cancer Societys Cancer Prevention Study3 is to better understand those factors that contribute to cancer.

SEC. 2.Article 4 (commencing with Section 104210) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:4.California Cancer Task Force104210.

The State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Public Health shall convene a joint California Cancer Task Force to coordinate the agencies efforts to address the most prevalent forms of cancer in California with all of the following specific goals:

(a)Improving early diagnosis and proper case management of cancer within the Medi-Cal program and other publicly funded health care programs.

(b)Improving outreach and education efforts to ensure California physicians benefit from the latest methods for early diagnosis and treatment of the most prevalent forms of cancer in California.

(c)Improving patient awareness of the need for early diagnosis of, and available treatments for, the most prevalent forms of cancer in California.

Date	Status
Feb 27, 2015	Introduced. To print.
Mar 1, 2015	From printer. May be heard in committee March 31.
Mar 2, 2015	Read first time.
Mar 23, 2015	Referred to Com. on HEALTH.
Jan 31, 2016	Died pursuant to Article IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.
Feb 1, 2016	From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.

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Introduced (2/27/2015)