一群来自不同党派和立法机构的议员正在推动一项立法提案，该提案要求保险公司为具有遗传风险因素的患者提供基因检测服务，并加强关于妇科癌症风险的教育宣传工作。这项名为《卵巢癌影响法案》（Ovarian Cancer IMPACT Act）的提案由参议员埃莉莎·斯洛特金（Elissa Slotkin，民主党，密歇根州）和凯蒂·布里特（Katie Britt，共和党，阿拉巴马州）牵头起草，相关内容已独家提供给《The Hill》杂志。
A group of lawmakers spanning both parties and chambers is introducing legislation that would require insurance plans to cover genetic testing for patients with hereditary risk factors and expand education and outreach about gynecologic cancer risk. Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) are leading the bill, the Ovarian Cancer IMPACT Act, which was shared exclusively with The Hill. Their House counterparts on the legislation are Reps.
在众议院方面，负责推动该法案的议员是罗莎·德拉乌罗（Rosa DeLauro，民主党，康涅狄格州）和唐·贝肯（Don Bacon，共和党，内布拉斯加州）。斯洛特金的母亲朱迪思（Judith）于2011年因卵巢癌去世，她表示，正是这段经历以及她的家庭在与保险公司打交道时所面临的种种困难，促使她决定竞选公职。“没有任何一个家庭应该同时面对癌症诊断和与保险公司的纠纷，”斯洛特金对《The Hill》杂志说，“尤其是像密歇根州这样的农村地区的女性，应该能够获得所需的基因检测和专业医疗服务，以便尽早发现或预防这种疾病。我们的法案从多个方面着手解决这个问题——包括提高公众意识、加强宣传以及改善医疗服务的可及性——我感谢来自不同党派的同事们的共同努力，因为我们都在为挽救生命而努力。”
Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.). Slotkin’s mother, Judith, died in 2011 from ovarian cancer. The senator mentions that, and the struggle her family had with insurance companies throughout her mother’s illness, as her motivation for running for office. "No family should have to fight both a cancer diagnosis and their insurance company at the same time," Slotkin told The Hill. "Women, especially in rural communities like Michigan, should be able to get the genetic testing and specialty care they need to catch this disease early or prevent it altogether. Our bill tackles this issue from every angle — awareness, outreach and access to care and testing — and I thank my colleagues from across the aisle as we all work to save lives.”
除了关于基因检测保险覆盖范围的条款外，新法案还重新授权了美国疾病控制与预防中心（Centers for Disease Control and Prevention）的一项已有20年历史的项目——即“乔安娜法案”（Johanna’s Law），该项目为关于妇科癌症的联邦宣传教育活动提供资金支持。布里特对《The Hill》杂志表示：“我认为，在这个立法机构中，我们往往忽视了那些真正影响着我们一半人口（即女性）的问题。”
In addition to some provisions about insurance coverage of genetic screenings, the new bill includes reauthorization of a 20-year-old Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program, Johanna’s Law, that provides funding for a federal education campaign about gynecological cancers. “I think far too many times in this body, we don't stand up for the things that actually affect 50 percent of our population, which are women,” Britt told The Hill.
“确保用于研究女性健康问题的资金能够真正发挥作用——无论是针对卵巢癌、乳腺癌、更年期问题，还是那些直接影响女性日常生活或可能改变她们生活轨迹的健康问题——这一点非常重要。同时，正如我所说，我们还需要确保这些研究成果和技术能够真正惠及每一个人；无论他们生活在阿拉巴马州的农村地区，还是城市里，无论他们来自美国的哪个角落，都应该能够平等地享受到这些资源。”
“Making sure that both proper research dollars go to women's issues, whether it is ovarian cancer, breast cancer, menopause, a number of things that affect women's daily life or can change the trajectory of their life, is important and then also, like I said, making sure that that research and that technology … aren't just there, but that hardworking people, the people from coast to coast, the people in rural Alabama, and people in urban areas all have access to those tools.”
这项立法体现了民主党和共和党在扩大医疗覆盖范围以及将联邦资金用于癌症预防方面的罕见共识。去年，斯洛特金在议会发言中批评共和党人试图削减医疗保健福利及《平价医疗法案》（Affordable Care Act）带来的各项福利：“特朗普总统和我的共和党同僚们正在竭尽全力剥夺普通美国人的医疗权益，只不过他们采用的方式更加隐蔽和‘巧妙’罢了；因为他们明白，直接对民众说‘你们应该失去这些福利’在政治上是不受欢迎的。”
The legislation is a rare alignment of Democrats and Republicans on expanding healthcare coverage and spending federal money on cancer prevention. Slotkin, in a floor speech last year, criticized Republicans for attempting to cut healthcare and Affordable Care Act benefits. “President Trump and my Republican colleagues are doing everything in their power to cut healthcare from average Americans, they’re just doing it in different and creative ways, because they know it’s politically unpopular to tell you to your face,” Slotkin said at the time.