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| California Cancer Coalition Celebrates State Legislature’s Passage of Landmark Cancer Care Access Bill, Urges Governor Newsom to Sign |
| Both chambers of California legislature unanimously pass the California Cancer Care Equity Act (SB 987) SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Cancer Care Is Different (CCID) Coalition today applauds the California State Legislature for passing the California Cancer Care Equity Act (SB 987), a bill that would expand access to specialized cancer care for Medi-Cal patients who receive a complex cancer diagnosis. The 40-0 concurrence vote follows unanimous passage by the California Senate in May and the Assembly in August. SB 987 represents a critical first step in delivering on the promise of the Cancer Patient Bill of Rights resolution adopted by the California legislature in 2021. The California Cancer Care Equity Act (CCCEA) now heads to the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom for his signature, which would help the most vulnerable populations of California seek optimal cancer care services more easily, such as genomic testing more, precision medicine-based care, subspecialty expertise and clinical trials. “We applaud the State Legislature for passing the California Cancer Care Equity Act, a significant step toward reducing health outcome disparities and fixing how we deliver innovation to patients in need,” said Robert Stone, President and CEO of City of Hope and the Helen and Morgan Chu Chief Executive Officer Distinguished Chair. “We hope Governor Newsom will support this effort to connect more Californians, particularly those from historically disadvantaged communities, to the cancer care that gives them the best shot at survival. This bill provides a strong example to the rest of the nation on how we can expand access to optimal cancer care and we urge him to sign this important reform into law.” If SB 987 becomes law, it would help remove barriers that prevent access to leading-edge care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries — who represent approximately one-third of California’s population. At present, patients on Medi-Cal experience less favorable five-year survival rates for several cancer types compared to patients on private insurance. Click here to read the full press release. |
