Arkansas the 30th state to pass legislation bolstering coverage for breast imaging
Arkansas recently became the 30th state to pass legislation bolstering coverage for supplemental breast imaging.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed Senate Bill 123 into law on April 14 following its passage by the state legislature. While Arkansas has policies eliminating patient cost sharing for diagnostic imaging, gaps leave women vulnerable to out-of-pocket expenses for other follow-up exams.
The measure will forbid commercial insurers from imposing cost-sharing for medically necessary supplemental exams including contrast-enhanced mammograms, ultrasound, MRI, and molecular breast imaging. Previous research has shown that women may skip these critical follow-ups when faced with costs as high as $1,000-plus for certain exams.
“Thousands of Arkansans require supplemental breast imaging every year, yet many forgo these critical services due to high out-of-pocket costs,” Molly Guthrie, VP of policy and advocacy at Susan G. Komen, said in a statement April 16. “Not anymore. This life-saving legislation means they can now receive the breast imaging they require, leading to an earlier breast cancer diagnosis and often better health outcomes.”
Arkansas follows in the footsteps of Virginia, which finalized supplemental breast imaging legislation in March. Imaging industry advocates also have pushed for a national fix to this issue, the Find it Early Act, but the bill has failed to gain traction in Washington.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.