Legislation that would provide health coverage parity for supplemental and diagnostic breast imaging won near unanimous support in the North Carolina House Wednesday, a week after breast cancer survivors called out their male counterparts in the legislature for failure to advance the bill.
Rep. Mary Belk (Photo: NCGA)“We are all familiar with mammograms and how important they are to detect breast cancer. But people who have survived breast cancer or have other major risks need to get more precise ultrasounds or breast MRI tests,” explained Rep. Mary Belk (D-Mecklenburg) in giving her bill a final push ahead of this week’s crossover deadline.
The diagnostic parity bill makes it so that all patients in North Carolina can get supplemental preventative screenings, with the same cost-sharing arrangement as routine mammograms. Far too many women, said Belk, cannot afford the medically necessary tests because of copays that can range from $252 to $1,200.
Rep. Jennifer Balkcom (R-Henderson) said that the Women’s Legislative Caucus would stand with Belk in supporting House Bill 297.
Rep. Sarah Stevens, a breast cancer survivor, spoke against the bill. (Photo: NCGA)But Rep. Sarah Stevens (R-Surry), herself a breast cancer survivor, said she could not support the bill that would likely raise insurance costs.
“This increases our health care costs because it increases our insurance costs. I’m afraid I can’t do this,” said the Surry County Republican. “This is one of those we put an extra burden on the insurance company, anytime we’re calling something parity.”
On any other day, such a critique by the veteran Republican might have been enough to sink Belk’s bill.
But House Speaker Pro Tem Mitchell Setzer (R-Catawba) came to the rescue.
“My mother is a 28-year breast cancer survivor. I hope you all will fully vote for this bill,” Setzer told his colleagues. “We’ll deal with the consequence later, but it is something that is desperately needed.”
But it was Rep. Howard Penny Jr. (R-Harnett) that shocked the chamber when he revealed he too was a breast cancer survivor.
“In April of 2021, I was diagnosed with breast cancer,” the House Deputy Majority Whip confided.
Rep. Penny said following a biopsy, a surgeon removed his right chest tissue where a lump was found. He was back at work the following week. Early detection and treatment are critical for improved outcomes.
“I was sitting here with a port in my side, back there on the House floor. Once a year, I go get a mammogram, which is a lot of fun for men because, guess what? We don’t have the anatomy to do what they’ve got to do,” Penny joked.
Penny urged his male colleagues in the House to be as brave as the women in their lives.
“If you’ve got any indication, you’ve got a lump in your breast, go get it checked.”
House Bill 297 passed 111-1, surviving crossover week. The bill now moves to the NC Senate where Democratic Leader Sydney Batch (D-Wake) is running Senate Bill 553. The “Save More Tatas Act” would provide health coverage parity for breast cancer diagnostic imaging. That bill would also allocate $3.5 million to help recruit and retain mammography technologists in rural and underserved areas.
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