Illinois Opens Free Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening and Treatment to All Uninsured Women

    Aiming, through early detection and prompt treatment, to reduce breast and cervical cancer deaths, Illinois opened, effective on the first of this month, the state’s free screening and treatment program, the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, to all Illinois women without health insurance.

    Now Illinois women of any income level are eligible. Before this program expansion, free screening and treatment were available only to uninsured women with incomes below 250 percent of the federal poverty level ($25,525 for an individual).

    People are eligible regardless of income, provided that they live in Illinois, are without health insurance, and are in the age ranges for which cancer screening is recommended. Women over 40 are eligible for free breast cancer screening (mammograms and breast exams). Women over 35 are eligible for free cervical cancer screening (pelvic exams and Pap tests). Younger women may qualify for screening if they have symptoms. Uninsured women who have been diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer are eligible for free treatment regardless of where they obtained their diagnosis.

    According to Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, with this expansion Illinois is the first state to ensure that all women who need access to screening and treatment can get them.

    For information about how to schedule appointments for the free screening or treatment, call the Illinois Women’s Health Line, 888.522.1282, or visit the program website at www.cancerscreening.illinois.gov.

For brochures about the program, contact Elizabeth Lostracco in the Governor’s Office at 312.814.5674.