SACRAMENTO, CA – Today Assemblymembers Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) and Lois Wolk (D-Davis) introduced legislation to provide a much needed update to the quality of health coverage surrounding breast cancer screenings. AB 2234 (Portantino and Wolk) requires California’s health insurance companies to increase coverage to conform with national guidelines and to offer women the most up to date detection methods.

"In the past 20 years, our understanding of breast cancer detection and prevention has improved dramatically. We now know that women have a multitude of risk factors and early indicators that fall outside the current ‘one size fits all’ health care policy," said Portantino. "With so many women diagnosed with breast cancer each year, our laws on breast cancer health insurance coverage should reflect all the latest advances in science and technology? Early detection of breast cancer is our best defense against breast cancer."

Under current law, insurers are required to pay for a "baseline mammogram" when the insured is 35. At age 40, an insured is eligible for a mammogram every other year until age 50, at which point mammograms are to be paid for every year. While these provisions were previously believed to be sufficient to protect women, recent scientific studies reveal at least nine categories of women who are at an "extreme risk" of developing breast cancer who can be denied a breast cancer screening by their PPO insurance. These categories include women with a personal history of breast cancer, women with multiple relatives who have breast cancer, and women who has had radiation exposure to the chest between the ages of 10 and 30.

"Cancer strikes women of all ages. Unfortunately, existing law only offers women over 35 with access to mammograms, MRIs, and other diagnostic tools critical for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer, which improves chances for successful treatment," said Wolk. "This legislation updates California law to provide all women, including young women at extreme risk of developing breast cancer, with the tools they need."

"I was urged by many women in my district to do something about the breast cancer epidemic. So after researching the issue, we found that many health insurance policies are woefully inadequate. With nearly 20,000 California women diagnosed with breast cancer each year, we simply can’t afford to have outdated health coverage standards," concluded Portantino.

AB 2234 is currently undergoing a health benefits mandate review by the California Health Benefits Review Program, as required by law.