Published: November 07, 2009 10:46 pm      

Mammogram voucher program on hold

JOHNSTOWN — A free mammogram program voucher will not resume until January, but advocates say there are programs available to women in serious need.

“With the way the economy is, the need is just exacerbated so much,” said LuAnn Weil, director of the statewide cancer program for Adagio Health in Pittsburgh.

“We doubled the amount of vouchers that previous program administrators have been able to provide, but funding was exhausted in early October.”

The voucher program is funded through donations to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Pittsburgh Affiliate, which is bolstering plans for next year’s distribution.

“This is the first year we worked with Adagio,” affiliate Executive Director Kathy Purcell said.

“We were able to get into more counties. We saw there was a greater need this year.”

Uninsured women seeking routine mammograms are being put on a January schedule, when the new grant cycle begins, Weil said.

Those with symptoms, including lumps found during routine breast exams, are being directed to government-funded programs available through the Department of Health.

The state HealthyWoman program provides treatment for women from households with income up to 250 percent of the poverty level.

“No one is going without services,” Weil said. “When a woman contacts us, we are trying to fit her into the best program available.”

State government programs run on a fiscal year that begins July 1, while the Komen funding cycle runs on the Jan. 1 calendar year. The overlap has proven beneficial in the past, but the state budget stalemate this year had the program coordinators sweating.

“We had to be very cautious with overspending with a budget we didn’t even know what we were getting,” Weil said.

Although the final state budget included cuts to the HealthyWoman program and others, Weil said the situation is a little more stable now.

She urged people to support the Komen voucher program.

“It is a great program,” Weil said. “It reaches so far. People can help support women who need mammograms by donating to Komen.”