(WASHINGTON, DC) – Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District – Kansas) today criticized the House leadership’s prescription drug bill, H.R. 1, passed by the House on June 27. The bill would severely cut funds for cancer patient treatment and privatize Medicare within the next 10 years.

“We shouldn’t sacrifice care for cancer patients in order to have a cheaper price tag on this prescription drug bill,” Moore said. “I have heard from far too many cancer patients who are afraid that the House leadership’s budget crunch will make their final days unbearable.”

Moore co-signed a letter circulated by Representatives Ed Schrock (VA-02), Lois Capps (CA-23), and Charlie Norwood (GA-09) to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, expressing concern about the cuts in cancer funding. H.R. 1 would reduce Medicare funding for cancer care by approximately 30 percent, according to nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates.

The American Cancer Society now estimates that 1 out of every 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer. Approximately 60 percent of all annual cancer diagnoses occur among Medicare beneficiaries. H.R. 1’s cuts are targeted at community-based cancer care, which Centers for Disease Control data shows is received by more than 4 out of 5 patients with cancer.

Andrew Keenan, a third year student at the University of Kansas School of Law, is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment after surgeries to remove a baseball-sized cancerous mass in his brain. Keenan endured three surgeries in the course of 11 weeks, after doctors discovered his cancer in March. Keenan receives treatment from The Cancer Institute at Meyer in Kansas City, Mo., a community facility like those targeted by H.R. 1’s budget cuts. Keenan interned with Congressman Moore’s Washington, D.C., office from January to April 2001.

“These funds are key to diagnosing cancer and finding treatment earlier. We need more research and care in this field to help people like Andy, who deserve long and happy lives. I am disappointed to see the House leadership selling Kansans short with this prescription drug bill,” Moore said.

The Schrock-Capps-Norwood letter regarding H.R. 1 voices concern that the bill “will force some cancer caregivers to close central and satellite treatment facilities, leaving patients with long drives to and from the cancer treatment they need. The cuts could also mean that some caregivers will be forced to reduce their nursing staff, valuable professionals who provide exceptional care. Just as troubling, the cuts could reduce the number of patients who can participate in clinical trials, thereby reducing their access to breakthrough therapies and potentially harming America’s clinical research progress.”