Governor Signs Bill Requiring Insurers to Pay for Colorectal Cancer Screening
Gov. Ed Rendell has signed a bill into law that includes language requiring insurers to pay for colorectal cancer examinations and screenings.
House Bill 1150 requires insurers to cover the screenings for anyone 50 and older and those younger than 50 who are high or increased risk for the cancer. As a compromise with insurers, the requirement only applies to groups with more than 50 employees.
The colorectal cancer screening requirement was added to a bill requiring insurers to cover autism treatment. The bill also was amended to increase state oversight of the proposed merger of Highmark and Independence Blue Cross (IBC).
The Pennsylvania Medical Society partnered with the Pennsylvania division of the American Cancer Society and the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians and Academy Foundation to support the issue when it was introduced in a similar bill in 2007, House Bill 972.
A study conducted by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee of the various aspects of colorectal cancer screening concluded that screenings would result in early detection of the disease, making it far less expensive to treat than late-stage disease.
Last Updated: 7/17/2008