Treating cancer before it spreads

Assemblywoman Carrozza knows that early breast cancer screening and treatment can save lives. That’s why she authored legislation requiring individual insurance providers to cover annual mammograms for women starting at age 40 (A.7927). This legislation builds on the Women’s Health and Wellness Act of 2002 (Ch. 554 of 2002), which increased a woman’s access to health screenings, improved public education outreach, and expanded prescription drug plan coverage.

Keeping health care affordable

In 2002, Assemblywoman Carrozza helped expand Medicaid to provide treatment for women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer through the Center for Disease Control Early Detection and Prevention program. For more information about the Healthy Women’s Partnership, contact the number in the attached clip-off section.

Recruiting and retaining more registered nurses

The New York State Nurses Association estimates that statewide health care facilities will be short 12,640 nurses by 2005. Assemblywoman Carrozza is sponsoring legislation to provide the public with information on nurse staffing levels (A.5591), as well as addressing this serious issue by working on legislation that:

• sets mandatory staffing guidelines for hospitals (A.5492)
• ensures safer nurse-to-patient ratios (A.8560)

An adequate number of registered nurses, appropriate patient/staff ratios, and less mandated overtime can save lives and prevent needless errors. It is crucial that hospitals be sufficiently staffed.