WASHINGTON—The 18 members of the Board of Sponsors of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) campaign today challenged American employers to strengthen employee health care benefits and support for working women coping with breast cancer as well as those who seek information about prevention, early detection, treatment, and research.
A just-completed NBCAM survey of some 2,000 businesses revealed seven areas for improvement over the next 3 years. These seven national workplace goals for the year 2002 (and the 1999 survey results) are as follows:
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More than 90% of all medical benefit plans will provide multifaceted, comprehensive coverage for breast cancer detection and treatment (1999: 10%).
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At least 50% of all benefit plans will include participation in federally sponsored breast cancer clinical trials, a rarity among most current plans (1999: 20%).
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At least 75% of all companies will provide time off for mammography screening or will make it available on site during business hours (1999: 39%).
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More than 90% of employers will take a proactive stance in breast cancer education by actively distributing informational materials (1999: 31%) and by providing on-site educational forums (1999: 20%).
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At least 50% of companies will require health care/cancer sensitivity training for all managers in order to foster an environment supportive to working women coping with breast cancer (1999: 3%).
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At least 50% of employers will promote employee volunteerism and/or provide philanthropic support for local breast cancer organizations (1999: 11%).
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At least 75% of companies will rate their breast cancer policies and employee health care benefit plans as “good” or “excellent” (1999: 45%).
Said NBCAM National Coordinator, B.J. Iacino, “We are grateful for the many remarkable ways in which business leaders have joined the fight against breast cancer over the past decade. However, women are telling us, and our survey confirms, that more needs to be done.” She noted that women make up 46% of the US labor force, and that 54% of women over age 18 work outside the home.
