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Insurance must cover more tests for cancer under new Iowa laws
Measures affect diagnostic breast exams, biomarker testing
Erin Murphy
May. 1, 2024 5:32 pm, Updated: May. 2, 2024 7:38 am
DES MOINES — Cancer survivors were on hand Wednesday to watch Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds sign into law legislation that will require insurance companies to cover diagnostic exams designed to detect cancerous tumors in dense breast tissue, and biomarker testing that tests for cancer and other diseases.
Reynolds signed both bills into law during a ceremony at the Iowa Capitol. Both bills received strong bipartisan support during the legislative process: combined there was only one vote in opposition.
The new laws take effect as Iowa’s cancer rate has soared to be the second-highest in the nation, trailing only Kentucky.
“This is a huge day,” said Maria Steele, a 66-year-old Adel woman who was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer four years ago and underwent biomarker testing to help determine her treatment.
Steele, whose granddaughter, Penelope, sat on Reynolds’ lap as the Republican governor signed the bill into law, said she had to work with her physician and insurance company to ensure the company paid for her biomarker testing, which she said cost $8,200.
Steele, who also has worked as a nurse practitioner, said she worries not everyone would know to fight for insurance to cover that. Now, companies will have to cover it under state law.
Steele said biomarker testing is like a GPS system that helps physicians determine the best possible treatment.
“It’s the right treatment for the right patient at the right time,” she said. “So you’re going to get right the treatment and typically fewer side effects then traditional chemotherapy.
“But more importantly, on a personal level, your quality of life is so much better. I was told that statistically I had a year to live, four years ago,” Steele added. “I’ve been able to spend time with my beautiful family … and I don’t think you can put a price on that.”
Reynolds became emotional when she noted that her family has firsthand experience with biomarker testing. Reynolds’ husband, Kevin, was diagnosed with lung cancer in October 2023.
“We personally got to use it, so I can tell you that it definitely makes a difference and it really ties the treatment to a specific marker,” Gov. Reynolds said. “So it really does matter.”
Kimberly Pearson, a 49-year-old breast cancer survivor from Oskaloosa and a nurse at Pella Regional Health Center, said requiring insurance companies to cover diagnostic breast exams will give Iowans free access to a test that can reveal more than a mammogram.
“If you have dense breast tissue, a mammogram may not see a mass in your breast until it’s quite large. It’s kind of like a cloudy picture,” Pearson said. “A breast MRI is much more sensitive, much easier to see through that dense tissue. So you can find tumors when they’re much smaller and early, and much less life-threatening, much easier to treat.”
House File 2668, the biomarker testing bill, passed the Iowa Senate 46-0 and the Iowa House 97-1. House File 2489, the diagnostic breast exam bill, passed the Iowa Senate 47-0 and the Iowa House 97-0.
Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com