HPV legislation in Missouri

Women in Government Ratings

Women in Government, a non-profit network of state level women legislators, receives significant funding from the pharmaceutical industry, including Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, and Digene Corporation -- all with products related to HPV vaccination and testing. According to their report, "The 'State' of Cervical Cancer Prevention in America - 2008" :

POPULATION: 5,842,713

Incidence & Mortality (2008 Score / 2007 Score)

• Cervical Cancer Incidence Rate: 7.9/100,000 (1/ 1)
• Cervical Cancer Incidence Rate/Race: White: 7.3 , Black: 13, Hispanic: 15.5
• Cervical Cancer Mortality Rate: 2.7/100,000 (1 / 1)
• Cervical Cancer Mortality Rate/Race: White: 2.5 , Black: 5.3

Screening (2008 Score / 2007 Score)

• Cervical Cancer Screening Rate: 79.9% (0 / 1)
• Cervical Cancer Screening Rate/Race: White: 79.5%, Black: 86.2%
• % Uninsured/Unscreened: 27.7% (1 / 1)
• Medicaid Coverage HPV Testing: Unrestricted (2 / 2)

Healthcare Access (2008 Score / 2007 Score)

• Rate Uninsured Women: 16% (1 / 1)
• % Low Income/Uninsured Women: 33%

Policy Initiatives and Infrastructure (2008 Score / Cumulative Score (2005–2008)

Screening Requirements (1 / 1)

• HB 541 would require insurers to provide coverage for HPV screening; did not leave committee.

Task Forces (0 / 0)

• There is no new cervical cancer prevention task force legislation.

Access to HPV Vaccines (1 / 1)

• HB 802/SB 514 would require girls entering the 6th grade to provide proof of HPV vaccination; allows parents to decline on medical or religious grounds after receiving information about HPV and cervical cancer; did not leave committee.

HPV Vaccine Information Programs (0 / 0)

• There is no HPV vaccine information activity.

Miscellaneous (0 / 2)

• There is no new miscellaneous cervical cancer prevention activity.

Additional Notes

• There is a privately funded effort underway in Missouri to provide the HPV vaccine to all eligible girls and young women who are uninsured or under-insured. The effort is spearheaded by the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH), the Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City, and the REACH Healthcare Foundation. MFH is providing $11 million for the effort to provide the vaccine to 30,000 girls and young women this year—the largest nongovernmental funding of the vaccine’s distribution in the United States and the most comprehensive effort in any state to ensure access to the vaccine. The Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City is providing $2 million and the REACH Foundation will provide $500,000.

Annual Ratings

• 2008: Fair (10 out of 22 points)
• 2007: Good (10 out of 18 points)

Articles and resources

SourceWatch Resources

• Gardasil
• GlaxoSmithKline
• Merck
• Women in Government
• Edelman
• The Marketing of Gardasil in Australia
• The Marketing of Gardasil in Canada
• The Marketing of Gardasil in Europe
• The Marketing of Gardasil in New Zealand
• The Marketing of Gardasil in the United States
• Direct-to-consumer advertising
• Disease Mongering
• Drug industry

External links

• Judith Siers-Poisson, The Politics and PR of Cervical Cancer, a four part series, PRWatch.org, July, 2007.