HPV legislation in Maine

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: 1,321,574

Incidence & Mortality (2008 Score / 2007 Score)

• Cervical Cancer Incidence Rate: 8.0/100,000 (1 / 2)
• Cervical Cancer Incidence Rate/Race: White: 8.0
• Cervical Cancer Mortality Rate: 2.0/100,000 (2 / 2)
• Cervical Cancer Mortality Rate/Race: White: 2.0

Screening (2008 Score / 2007 Score)

• Cervical Cancer Screening Rate: 89.1% (2 / 2)
• Cervical Cancer Screening Rate/Race: White: 89.1%
• % Uninsured/Unscreened: 27.7% (1 / 1)
• Medicaid Coverage HPV Testing: Unrestricted (2 / 2)

Healthcare Access (2008 Score / 2007 Score)

• Rate Uninsured Women: 12% (1 / 1)
• % Low Income/Uninsured Women: 18%

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

Screening Requirements (0 / 1)

• There are no new screening requirements.

Task Forces (0 / 2)

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

Access to HPV Vaccines (2 / 2)

• HB 330 would require female children entering 6th grade to be immunized against HPV and provide an exemption for parents who have received information on the vaccine and declined immunization for their child; died.
• SB 45 authorizes the Dept. of Health and Human Services to provide coverage for the HPV vaccine under the MaineCare program; provides funding to the Maine Immunization Program for purchasing and distributing the HPV vaccine to all girls 11 and 12 years old; directs the DHHS to develop and implement a statewide cervical cancer

prevention and detection education program, including outreach to racial and ethnic minority populations, and a school-based cervical cancer education program; signed by Gov. John Baldacci.

HPV Vaccine Information Programs (0 / 0)

• There is no HPV vaccine information activity.

Miscellaneous (0 / 0)

• There is no new miscellaneous cervical cancer prevention activity.

Additional Notes

• SB 45 implements the recommendations of the Task Force to Study Cervical Cancer Prevention, and includes an expansion of cervical cancer screening eligibility for low-income women under the Maine Breast and Cervical Health

Program; increased outreach to low-income women about screening; formation of a public–private stakeholder group to explore options to increase screening; and new data collection requirements, including vaccination rates and racial/ethnic minority and geographic variability in cervical cancer rates.

Annual Ratings

• 2008: Good (14 out of 22 points)
• 2007: Very Good (13 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.