Opportunities Remain for Wisconsin to Prevent Cancer and Improve the Care and Quality of Life of Cancer Survivors
Wisconsin lawmakers are missing opportunities in key policy areas that could improve cancer prevention and control, according to a report released Aug. 3, 2017, by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
ACS CAN’s How Do You Measure Up? (HDYMU) Report, is an annual progress report on state legislative activity. The report identifies ways in which state lawmakers can reduce cancer incidence and mortality rates by instituting evidence-based policies in the areas of tobacco control, cancer prevention, and access to care.
According to the report, Wisconsin’s cancer prevention efforts are falling short thanks to the lack of state funding for tobacco prevention and control efforts and the failure to implement policies that would restrict youth access to indoor tanning. Additionally, Wisconsin could improve access to care by expanding access to Medicaid (known in the state as BadgerCare) and palliative care services focused on a patient’s quality of life.
Wisconsin continues to receive high marks for its cigarette tax rates and smoke-free air laws, as well as state efforts to implement balanced pain policies that address opioid misuse while not interfering with the ability of cancer patients and survivors to manage cancer-related pain.
View all of Wisconsin’s scores summarized in the table below and on the HDYMU website, or check out the full report here.
How Wisconsin Measures Up
Green = Doing Well Yellow = Some Progress Red = Falling Short
| Cigarette Tax Rates | Green |
| Smoke-free Laws | Green |
| Medicaid Coverage of Tobacco Cessation | Yellow |
| Tobacco Prevention Funding | Red |
| Indoor Tanning Device Restrictions | Red |
| Breast & Cervical Cancer Early Detection | Yellow |
| Pain Policy | Green |
| Access to Palliative Care | Red |
| Increased Access to Medicaid | Red |