By Linda Comins, The Wheeling News-Register
WHEELING, W.Va. — Despite recent strides, West Virginia and Ohio still fall short on cancer-fighting public policies, according to a new report.
The American Cancer Society last week issued the 2019 edition of “How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality.”
The annual report rates states in eight specific areas of public policy that can help fight cancer: increased access to care through Medicaid, access to palliative care, balanced pain control policies, cigarette tax levels, smoke-free laws, funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs, cessation coverage under Medicaid and restricting indoor tanning devices for people under 18.
A color-coded system classifies how well a state is doing on each issue. Green shows that a state has adopted evidence-based policies and best practices; yellow indicates moderate movement toward the benchmark and red shows where states are falling short.