HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1854

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to cancer.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that "80% by 2018" is an initiative by the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, a working group established by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other national cancer control stakeholders, in which organizations have committed to eliminating colorectal cancer as a major public health problem and are working toward the shared goal of getting eighty per cent of adults aged fifty and older screened for colorectal cancer by 2018.

     The "80% by 2018" initiative is vital to reducing the burden of cancer because:

     (1)  Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States, and a cause of considerable suffering among more than one hundred forty thousand adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year;

     (2)  When adults get screened for colorectal cancer, it can be detected early at a stage when treatment is most likely to be successful, and in some cases, it can be prevented through the detection and removal of precancerous polyps;

     (3)  About one in three adults between fifty and seventy-five years old, about twenty-three million people, are not getting tested as recommended;

     (4)  The people less likely to get tested are rural populations, men, those aged fifty to sixty-four, and those with lower education and income;

     (5)  There are several recommended screening test options, including colonoscopy, stool tests such as a guaiac fecal occult blood test or fecal immunochemical test, and sigmoidoscopy;

     (6)  Screening can save lives but only if people get tested; and

     (7)  The best test is the test that gets done.

     The legislature further finds that according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, Hawaii's current screening rate for colorectal cancer is sixty-four per cent.  Hawaii's screening rate, however, when compared to all states ranks in the bottom half, indicating there is more work to be done to increase colorectal cancer screening rates.

     The legislature also finds that the "80% by 2018" initiative's goal of increasing the colorectal cancer screening rate to eighty per cent by 2018 will increase the quality of life for hundreds of people in the State by detecting and preventing death from late stage colorectal cancer and lessening the physical, emotional, and financial burden that may come with a cancer diagnosis.

     The purpose of this Act is to launch a colorectal cancer screening and awareness program to promote and encourage screening through a public awareness campaign to help the State achieve an increase in screening rates in conjunction with the "80% by 2018" initiative.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  There is established the colorectal cancer screening and awareness program, to be administered by the department of health.  The department of health shall:

     (1)  Educate women and men regarding the risk associated with colorectal cancer and the benefits of screening; and

     (2)  Provide specific education to individuals who are at greater risk for colorectal cancer.

     (b)  The department of health shall submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2017 regular session on the expenditure of all funds for the colorectal cancer screening and awareness program.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $100,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2016-2017 for the colorectal cancer screening and awareness program.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2016.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Colorectal Cancer Screening and Awareness Program; Department of Health; Appropriation

 

Description:

Creates the colorectal cancer screening and awareness program within the department of health and appropriates funds for the program.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.