Oncology Nursing Society Honors Senator Portantino as Cancer Policy Champion
For Immediate Release: March 19, 2024
Contact: Lerna Shirinian, (818) 409-0400
Oncology Nursing Society Honors Senator Portantino as Cancer Policy Champion
Sacramento, CA – Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – Burbank) was honored with the Cancer Policy Champion Award by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) California Chapter for authoring Senate Bill 987, a life-saving bill signed by Governor Newsom in 2022. SB 987 – the California Cancer Care Equity Act - ensures a more equitable model of health care for cancer patients. The Oncology Nursing Society California Advocacy Summit planning committee presented the award in Sacramento.
“I am grateful and honored to receive the Cancer Policy Champion Award from the Oncology Nursing Society California Chapter,” stated Senator Portantino. “It is critical that we remove barriers to care and ensure all cancer patients have access to new science and state of the art treatments. Our goal should be to improve health outcomes for ALL patients. That’s why I was proud to author SB 987 and push forward this life-saving cancer treatment proposal.”
The CDC lists cancer as the second-leading cause of death in California. More than 187,000 Californians are diagnosed with cancer every year, and thousands of them will be misdiagnosed or placed on inappropriate or ineffective treatment.
SB 987, the California Cancer Care Equity Act, aims to improve cancer care access, cancer survival, and patient experience by enhancing Medi-Cal patient access to necessary clinical expertise and resources at NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. The bill parallels the current Medi-Cal coverage model that allows Medi-Cal beneficiaries to have access to certain life-saving care services at a Center of Excellence, even if that center is not included in the member’s provider network. Specifically, SB 987 expands the existing set of care diagnoses for which such enhanced access is provided and includes clinically necessary cancer care services such as genomic/genetic/transcriptomic/proteomic testing, clinical trials participation, and all necessary cancer-related outpatient and inpatient clinical care, defined episode of care.
SB 987 requires Medi-Cal managed care providers to inform enrollees of their eligibility to receive enhanced care and ensures primary care doctors in contract with those managed care providers inform enrollees with any information they need to decide between relevant treatment options. The bill also requires that decisions to approve, deny, or modify a patient’s request for optimal care are made within a 72-hour time window to shorten the window between diagnosis and treatment.
“The Cancer Policy Champion Award highlights the Senator's pivotal work in authoring Senate Bill 987 – key legislation which significantly enhances the health outcomes of Californians whose lives have been touched by cancer. Senator Portantino's dedication to improving cancer care aligns seamlessly with the core mission of the ONS California Advocacy Summit. It is with immense pride that we acknowledge his commitment to improving access to cancer care, overall survival, and the patient experience,” stated Gilanie De Castro, Founder of the ONS California Advocacy Summit, and President-Elect of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of ONS.
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