NY State Senate Bill 2021-S7647

Senate Bill S7647

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Allows a notice of dense breast tissue to be determination of medical necessity for coverage of a breast ultrasound

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 03, 2022	reported and committed to finance
Jan 05, 2022	referred to health

Votes

- May 3, 2022 - Health Committee Vote
  S7647
  
  14
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Health Committee Vote: May 3, 2022
      
      aye (14)
      
      Biaggi
      
      Boyle
      
      Cleare
      
      Gallivan
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Kaminsky
      
      May
      
      Oberacker
      
      Rath III
      
      Rivera
      
      Ryan
      
      Salazar
      
      Stec
      
      Thomas
      
      excused (1)
      
      Brouk

co-Sponsors

2021-S7647 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8814
Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2404-c, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S2917, A2516

2021-S7647 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Allows a notice of dense breast tissue to be considered a determination of medical necessity for purposes of coverage of breast ultrasounds as recommended by a provider of mammography services.

2021-S7647 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7647

SPONSOR: KAPLAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to allowing a notice
of dense breast tissue to be considered a determination of medical
necessity for coverage of a breast ultrasound

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide that where a patient has received notice that their mammogram
shows that the patient has dense breast tissue, such notice shall be
considered a determination of medical necessity for purposes of coverage
of breast ultrasounds.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one adds a new subdivision 2 to section 2404c of the public
health law to provide that where a provider of mammography services has
provided notice to a patient that their mammogram detected dense breast
tissue, the notice shall be considered a determination of medical neces-

sity for purposes of coverage of breast ultrasounds as recommended by
the provider.

Section two provide the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Current New York State Law requires insurance companies to cover the
cost of mammograms. In addition, providers must give notice to a patient
when a mammogram shows that the patient has dense breast tissue. Having
dense breasts can make it more difficult to detect certain forms of
breast cancer, particularly some of the more aggressive forms, through a
mammogram alone. It also puts women at about a twofold risk for develop-
ing cancer as compared to those who do not have dense breasts. Conduct-
ing an ultrasound along with a regular mammogram is essential to improv-
ing cancer detection for women with dense breasts.

Ultrasounds for dense breasts are only covered by insurers if they are
found to be a medical necessity. This legislation amends the Public
Health Law to provide that the notice given by a provider to a patient
that the patient has dense breasts shall be considered a determination
of medical necessity for purposes of coverage of ultrasounds.

Early detection is key to preventing women from developing aggressive
forms of breast cancer and improving survival rates. This legislation
will prevent the unnecessary delay and stress imposed when an insurance
company denies coverage for this critical service.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S7647 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7647
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 5, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  KAPLAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to allowing a  notice
   of  dense  breast  tissue  to be considered a determination of medical
   necessity for coverage of a breast ultrasound
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Section 2404-c of the public health law, as added by chap-
 ter 265 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   § 2404-c. Breast cancer; duty of providers of mammography services  to
 notify and inform. 1. Every provider of mammography services shall, if a
 patient's  mammogram demonstrates dense breast tissue, provide notifica-
 tion to such patient that shall include, but  not  be  limited  to,  the
 following  information,  in  any summary of the mammography report sent,
 pursuant to the  federal  mammography  quality  standards  act,  to  the
 patient:
   Your  mammogram  shows  that your breast tissue is dense. Dense breast
 tissue is very common and is not abnormal. However, dense breast  tissue
 can make it harder to find cancer on a mammogram and may also be associ-
 ated with an increased risk of breast cancer.
   This information about the result of your mammogram is given to you to
 raise  your awareness. Use this information to talk to your doctor about
 your own risks for breast cancer. At that time, ask your doctor if  more
 screening  tests  might  be useful, based on your risk. A report of your
 results was sent to your physician.
   For the purposes of this section dense breast tissue shall mean heter-
 ogeneously dense or extremely dense  tissue  as  defined  in  nationally
 recognized guidelines or systems for breast imaging reporting of mammog-
 raphy  screening,  including,  but  not  limited  to, the breast imaging
 reporting and data system of the American College of Radiology, and  any
 equivalent new terms, as such guidelines or systems are updated.
   2.  WHERE  A PROVIDER OF MAMMOGRAPHY SERVICES HAS PROVIDED NOTICE TO A
 PATIENT UNDER SUBDIVISION ONE OF  THIS  SECTION,  THE  NOTICE  SHALL  BE
 CONSIDERED A DETERMINATION OF MEDICAL NECESSITY FOR PURPOSES OF COVERAGE
 OF A BREAST ULTRASOUND AS RECOMMENDED BY THE PROVIDER.
   § 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13824-02-1

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S7647

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Anna M. Kaplan