Susan G. Komen urged quick passage of legislation introduced in Pennsylvania to eliminate out-of-pocket costs for women for necessary diagnostic breast cancer imaging.
“Nobody should be forced to skip medical care that helps to detect breast cancer early because of the cost, yet thousands of Pennsylvanians are forced to make that decision every year,” noted Molly Guthrie, vice president of policy and advocacy at Susan G. Komen, in a news release.
HB 433 was introduced by Rep. Gina Curry (D-Delaware) and would eliminate costs for women for supplemental imaging such as breast MRIs and ultrasounds. When a mammogram reveals an abnormality or an individual is at a higher risk of breast cancer, diagnostic and supplemental imaging is required to determine if the patient needs a biopsy.
The high out-of-pocket costs for these scans deter many individuals from receiving their recommended care, and as a result, breast cancer may be diagnosed at a later stage when it is much deadlier and much more costly to treat, Susan G. Komen noted.