Cancer Screening Program Loses Federal Funding
California lost $2.65 million in federal funding for a breast and cervical cancer screening program for uninsured women because it did not report data to CDC correctly, the Los Angeles Times reports (Los Angeles Times, 6/18).
Kevin Reilly, deputy director of prevention services at the Department of Health Services, said officials learned six months ago that the state would be sanctioned for not reporting certain information related to the program. Reilly said the problem could be attributed to not collecting the required data rather than the state's computer technology.
DHS officials said they would continue funding the breast and cervical cancer screening program -- called Every Woman Counts -- using money from the tobacco tax settlement. About 270,000 women receive screenings through the program annually (Benson, Sacramento Bee, 6/17).