New York State Passes Breast Density Inform Law

Lena Kauffman | | Radiology Business | Business Intelligence
New York has become the fourth state with a breast density inform law. Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed the “Breast Density Inform” (S.6769-B) legislation and the law will take effect in 180 days. The legislation had previously passed both the New York State Senate and Assembly unanimously. It requires that every mammography report given to a patient with dense breast tissue inform the patient in plain, non-technical language that she has dense breast tissue and that she should discuss the potential benefit of further screenings with her physician. The legislation was sponsored by Senator John J. Flanagan (2nd Senate District) and Assemblymember Ellen Jaffee (95th Assembly District), who took up the cause after JoAnn Pushkin, a constituent, breast-cancer survivor and Executive Director of Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc. contacted Senator Flanagan. Connecticut was the first state to pass a breast density inform law. The other two states are Texas and Virginia. In addition, 13 other states are considering such laws, and legislation that would make it a federal law has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lena Kauffman,

Contributor

Lena Kauffman is a contributing writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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