MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Lawmakers on Tuesday approved two bills that make certain cancer screenings free for Alabamians with insurance or on health benefit plans.
Senate Bill 19 from Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, requires that coverage of prostate cancer screenings for high-risk men over 40 and all men over 50 be provided without any cost to an insured Alabamian. This means no co-pays, deductibles or other cost-sharing measures.
The bill – sponsored in the Senate by Senate Majority Leader Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro – specifies that Black men and all men with a first-degree relative who has had prostate cancer are considered high-risk.
Rep. Juandalyn Givan, D-Birmingham, offered an amendment on the floor to name the bill in honor of Alabama businessman David “Mac” McElhaney and journalist Roy S. Johnson, both of whom have battled prostate cancer. The amendment passed.
The bill passed with a vote of 98-0.
Rep. Frances Holk-Jones’, R-Foley, House Bill 300 creates similar provisions for mammograms or other breast diagnostic exams for women over 40. The companion bill, sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, passed in the Senate last week by a vote of 30-0.While introducing the bill on the floor, Holk-Jones was met with applause when she shared with the body that she has been cancer-free since December after an earlier breast cancer diagnosis.
Several lawmakers expressed support for the bill based on loved ones’ experiences with breast cancer. Rep. Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa shared that his wife died of breast cancer and said the bill will help Alabamians to catch breast cancer earlier by removing the financial element of testing.
“If we can do anything to help make this burden lighter on Alabama families, I appreciate it and thank you for carrying this bill,” Travis said to Holk-Jones on the floor.
The bill by a vote of 99-0.
In both cases, health insurance plans are already required to cover the screenings in certain situations, but the two bills specify that insurance cannot charge deductibles or copayments for the beneficiaries.
The bills reflect the coverage already offered to policyholders from Alabama’s largest health insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield, spokesperson Sophie Martin told ADN.
“Customer demands and science on issues like this have the ability to shape coverage – but in this case these bills simply reflect the current coverages we already have in place,” Martin told ADN.
House Bill 300 now heads to the Senate for consideration, and SB19 now moves to the governor’s desk.
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