JEFFERSON CITY — State Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, has been asked to serve on the Missouri Oral Chemotherapy Parity Interim Committee, a new panel related to cancer issues.

“This is an important committee for our district, as it applies to both insurance and health care,” Sen. Munzlinger said. “There are many aspects of this committee that impact our constituents, such as studying issues relating to traveling to doctors’ visits to receive cancer treatment, accessing facilities and medical professionals that treat cancer patients, and lack of providers in the health care industry. The panel will also examine the cost associated on either side of the issue. This is a very challenging matter, and I look forward to working with the other members of the committee to help form the solutions we need.”

The Missouri Oral Chemotherapy Parity Interim Committee was created to study the disparity in patient co-payments between orally and intravenously administered chemotherapies, the reasons for the disparity, and the patient benefits in establishing co-payment parity between oral and infused chemotherapy agents. The committee will consider information on the costs associated with the delivery of patient oncology treatments.

Senator Munzlinger is one of 16 members who will serve on the panel. Of these, two are Missouri senators and two are state representatives. The rest represent business, health care, pharmaceutical and insurance industries throughout Missouri.