A coalition of Oklahoma medical students is working with the State Medical Association (OSMA) to propose a measure that would expand coverage of prostate cancer screening under Medicaid during the next legislative session.
Reagan Amason, a third-year medical student at the University of Oklahoma, is leading the charge as the president of the OU-OSMA medical student section. They work to identify a few legislative priorities they present to the association.
Amason said the section has contributed to attempts to eliminate taxes on menstrual products and create an income tax credit for purchasing naloxone in certain establishments.
“We have seen a lot of momentum over the past few years to get some really cool things passed,” Amason said.
Their idea for this next session came from conversations Amason had with Dr. Michael Cookson, a professor and chairman of urology at the OU College of Medicine. Amason said the goal is to file legislation that would cover the screening, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer under Medicaid.
That would include a digital rectal exam, prostate-specific antigen test and associated lab work. It would also cover follow-up testing directed by a physician, with provisions like urinary analysis and medical imaging.
Oklahoma ranks 35th in the U.S. for prostate cancer incidence and 15th for mortality. That means 20 in every 100,000 men die from the disease.
“These men are not getting screened properly, and so then they are presenting to us with worse cancer than if they were screened,” Amason said.
Amason said “it’s a disservice to Oklahomans” that screening for this common cancer isn’t fully covered by Medicaid.
“SoonerCare patients are, just by definition, notably more in financial distress,” Amason said. “The coverage of those screenings would lift a financial burden on those patients.”
The potential legislation is supported by OSMA, the American Cancer Society, Cancer Action Network, ZERO Prostate and Medicaid Managed Care Coalition, Amason said. Similar measures have passed in other states.
Their current cost estimation for this bill sits under $20 million, Amason said.
“Compared to the cost of surgery, and follow-up appointments and radiation or chemo … that's an exponentially larger cost if the cancer wasn't just found earlier and treated,” Amason said.
As a student, Amason said he feels it's important for himself and other students in OU-OSMA leadership to participate in crafting legislation because they’re the future of health care.
“The legislature tells us as physicians what we can and cannot do in every state. … By necessity, we as doctors have to be involved in legislation because we are actually in the hospital. We're the ones actually treating patients. ... It's a huge disservice to our patients and to our state if we aren't involved in legislation," Amason said.
Oklahoma’s next legislative session begins on Feb. 3, 2025.
