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Budget Cuts Would Reduce Cancer Screening Coverage

American Cancer Society

Gov. Bruce Rauner's proposed budget includes cuts to a program that allows uninsured women to receive access to cancer screenings.

Pamela Luechtefeld says if it weren't for the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, she wouldn't have detected her breast cancer.

"I would probably be ate up with cancer because they caught it in its second stage, so I wouldn't have been--I hadn't been to the doctor," she said. "The last time I had a mammogram was eight years ago."

Sixty-two-year-old Luechtefeld worked as a waitress in Decatur and didn't have insurance. She says when she found a lump on her breast last year, she wasn't planning on going to the doctor because she couldn't afford it.

Rauner plans to cut $9.8 million from the $13.8 million program. The federal government's share is $6 million dollars.

Last year, the program served 27,000 women, but the Illinois Department of Public Health estimates only 13,000 women will receive screening after the cuts.

Doris Garrett, the service area specialist for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, says his cuts will also affect Medicaid, which is how many uninsured women afford treatment after they are diagnosed.

"It's a significant concern for Illinois women as we try to make sure that all women have access to the necessary health screenings and services that can help save lives."

The Republican governor says spending cuts are necessary in order to balance the budget.

Lisa Ryan is a graduate student in the public affairs reporting program at the University of Illinois at Springfield. She previously worked at Indiana Public Radio and the college radio station founded by David Letterman. She is a 2014 broadcast journalism and political science graduate of Ball State University.
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