A U.S man is being denied medical coverage for breast cancer because he is male.
August 9, 2011- A South Carolina main does not earn enough to have insurance coverage, earning just $9.00 an hour laying tile. The 26 year old was amazed when he was told by doctors he had breast cancer. He was also stunned to hear he was denied coverage by Medicaid, the state’s health insurance program.
Since July when he first applied for insurance coverage federal Medicaid officials have been in contact with the state’s Department of Health & Human Services about possibly amending the rules.
The state’s health department director Tony Keck said in a prepared statement the position at the federal level is discriminatory and pleaded with the CMS, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to show a bit more flexibility.
CMS has said often times that an act of Congress would have to happen for men to get coverage for breast cancer care. An act enacted back in 2000 known as the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act uses funds from Medicaid to pay for treatment for cervical or breast cancer patients that fail to qualify for the federal or state funded insurance program for the disabled and poor.
Since 2007 in South Carolina 16 men have applied for the coverage offered through Medicaid for the cervical and breast cancer program all have been denied. Three met all requirements for eligibility but were declined because they were male.
