RALEIGH, N.C. — A bill in the state House would close health insurance coverage gaps for life-saving breast cancer screenings and exams.
House Bill 297 passed unanimously Tuesday in the House Health Committee.
The bill, which has bipartisan support, seeks to require insurance companies to cover diagnostic, screening and supplemental breast exams to the same extent as mammograms.
Rep. Mary Belk, D-Mecklenburg, is a breast cancer survivor and the bill’s lead sponsor. Her proposal is a rare example of a Democrat-backed bill receiving a committee hearing in the state’s Republican-controlled legislature.
“The Breast Cancer Prevention Imaging Parity Bill is specifically aimed at helping three specific groups to afford medically necessary tests,” Belk said.
