One of Colo.'s most popular plates to be pulled

DENVER - Drivers will no longer be able to get one of Colorado's specialty license plates starting this fall. In the place of the so-called pink plate that reads "Committed to a Cure" will be a different plate with a different design, a different cost and a different mission.

The original plate is being "retired" because the women who created it feel its mission is compromised under a new law set to go into effect this fall. That new law will create an annual $25 surcharge for those who own the pink plate and the money will go to provide treatment to uninsured women with breast and cervical cancer. The state is in the process of creating the new license plate and is likely to have it ready before the end of the year.

"The vision of the plate was to create a broad awareness about the breast cancer crusade," said Carol Hickman, who came up with the idea for a special breast cancer awareness license plate after seeing one in another state and wanting a way to honor her mother, who is a breast cancer survivor. "[There is] absolutely nothing wrong with women getting treatment and getting the treatment they need. The challenge is putting that on a plate that didn't have that vision."

"There's no research component to [the $25 surcharge], so it's not going to the overall purpose of committed to a cure. It's treating individuals but we're not solving the root of the problem," Hickman said.

Currently, the money from the pink plate goes toward its manufacturing costs and to the state's highway transportation fund.

Supporters of the new surcharge are unapologetic of its goal and are disappointed with Hickman's decision. Rep. Dianne Primavera (D-Broomfield) is a breast cancer survivor and says she remains haunted by the story one of her constituents told her of being diagnosed with breast cancer and of not being able to afford treatment. The $25 surcharge will eventually cover the treatment costs of hundreds of Colorado women who make too little to afford health insurance but who make too much under state law to qualify for Medicaid or are denied treatment based on where they were initially screened.

"I can't imagine anything worse than being diagnosed with breast cancer and not having treatment," Primavera said. "The plate says 'Committed to a Cure' and we wanted to take that plate and put it to work and cure women with the disease, but I'm passionate enough about the issue. We'll do whatever it takes to get these women treatment and if it means a new design on a new plate, that's what we're going to do."

The policy change involving the surcharge was recommended by the Colorado Breast Cancer Coalition, which is made up of a number of groups working on the issue. The groups tried to convince Hickman to allow the continued use of the current plate's design, but she believed the surcharge was not "in alignment with the original mission." That disappointed many members of the coalition, including the Denver affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

"The 'Committed to the Cure' plate has raised awareness of breast cancer and I'm grateful for that," said Michele Ostrander, who is the executive director at Komen Denver. "But Colorado women are still dying of this disease, and our main concern is to create a unique funding mechanism that will eventually expand women's access to cancer screening and care."

"Regardless of what the plate looks like, the message remains the same: the biggest risk factor for breast cancer is being female, and early detection saves lives," Ostrander said.

Figures from Colorado's Division of Motor Vehicles show as of June 30, there are 28,602 vehicles registered with the pink plate. That makes it the third most popular specialty plate in the state behind the Columbine "Respect Life" plate that is on 121,965 vehicles and the "Pioneers" plate found on 33,983 vehicles. There are 5,121,258 vehicles registered with the state of Colorado as of the end of June.