Crisco Bill Offers More Coverage For Breast Cancer Screenings

State Senator Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. (D-Woodbridge), Senate chair of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee, has won unanimous Senate approval for his bill to require insurance coverage of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for breast cancer screening after a woman is found to have heterogeneous or dense breast tissue.

Likewise, the bill provides MRI coverage if a woman is determined to be at increased risk for breast cancer due to family history or prior personal history, Senator Crisco said. SB10, An Act Concerning Insurance Coverage for Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging, now advances to the House of Representatives for its consideration.

“In recent years we’ve learned just how ineffective conventional mammograms are for women with dense breast tissue and that additional screenings are necessary for these women – this bill simply provides insurance coverage for those additional screenings,” Senator Crisco said. “In addition, we have learned how devastating it is for women with ‘clean’ mammograms to learn they have a suspicious lump after all – this bill gives women with insurance access to a more complete range of screening options.”

Senator Crisco said the scope of MRIs to be covered by provisions of SB10 are consistent with recommendations of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the American Cancer Society, or American Society of Clinical Oncology.

“Connecticut has earned its reputation as a leader in early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer with compassion and foresight to enact laws similar to this one providing notification of the presence of dense breast tissue and making referrals to additional screenings like ultrasound imaging and MRIs,” Senator Crisco said. “Passage of this bill today helps enhance our state’s reputation in this regard and I’m grateful to my Senate colleagues for their support of this measure today.”

“I’ll now work with my co-chair to encourage timely and favorable action on the bill by my counterparts in the House,” Senator Crisco added.

Current laws governing breast cancer screenings begin with a requirement that insurance policies cover baseline mammograms for women age 35 to 39 and yearly mammograms for women age 40 or older.