Women in Pennsylvania would be able to get more extensive screening for breast cancer, under a bill being considered by state lawmakers.
The state senate unanimously passed a bill on Wednesday, that would require insurers to cover breast ultrasound and MRI for some women. Women with dense breast tissue, previous breast cancer, or a strong family history of the disease, would be eligible.
Dense breast tissue makes it harder to detect breast cancer on a mammogram. State law requires doctors to notify women, if a mammogram shows that their breast tissue is dense, but insurers don’t have to pay for additional screening.
The director of imaging at UPMC Altoona’s Breast Health Center said passage of the new bill would be wonderful news.
“Screening ultrasound can definitely find more cancers, and find additional cancers, that we can’t see on mammography. MRI can also see more cancers than we find with mammography, so definitely I think we can save lives or find breast cancer earlier,” explained, radiologist Dr. Lauren Deur.
She said that about half of women have dense breasts, so they’d qualify for the extra testing, but she added that it’s important not to minimize the importance of mammography.
“It’s not perfect, and in dense breasts it can miss some things. But it’s really the only test out there that has been proven to decrease mortality,” Dr. Deur said.
The bill now goes to the state house and if it passes there, on to the governor for his signature.