Access to Breast Cancer Oncology Care in California

PI: Ninez Ponce, UC Los Angeles

Ninez Ponce of UCLA Center for Health Policy Research investigated the economic, emotional, and structural obstacles that women face when pursuing breast cancer treatment and follow-up care in California. Her team found three main issues that are preventing women from receiving life-saving, life-extending treatment for breast cancer: limited public health care, lack of patient navigators, and lack of continuity of care. The findings were presented to the California Legislature in January 2017. The gaps identified in this project were partially addressed through legislation to remove treatment caps in place for the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program (AB 1810 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 34, Statutes of 2018)). Findings are available in the 2018 report: Addressing Barriers to Breast Cancer Care in California: The 2016-2017 Landscape for Policy Change. 2018. http://healthpolicy.ucla.edu/publications/search/pages/detail.aspx?PubID=1595

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