An Alabama House committee approved legislation on Wednesday that would eliminate certain patients’ co-pays for breast and prostate cancer screenings.
The House Insurance Committee unanimously voted to give a favorable report to a bill seeking to eliminate cost-sharing requirements for screenings necessary to detect breast cancer.
House Bill 300, sponsored by Rep. Frances Holk-Jones, R-Foley, would require health insurers that cover screenings for breast cancer to provide coverage without making beneficiaries share the cost.
Senator Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, is carrying the Senate version of the legislation, SB177.
Current Alabama law requires health insurers to cover mammography to screen for breast cancer in women 40 years old or older. Insurers subject to the federal Affordable Care Act must also cover mammogram screenings for women 40 years or older without requiring the beneficiary to share the cost.
However, when a mammogram reveals an abnormality in a patient’s breast or a patient is at a higher risk of breast cancer, additional imaging is required to complete early detection of the disease.
Holk-Jones described her and Coleman-Madison’s legislation as helping to ensure patients have access to important screenings such as breast MRIs and ultrasounds.
“Many women face significant out of pocket costs after, following, follow-up breast cancer breast imaging, after a screening mammogram,” Holk-Jones said to the committee. “It does make a difference. It’s a whirlwind. It’s emotional.”
“Being able to go ahead and say, ‘yes, do those, do that additional testing,’ and not having to stop and say, ‘wait a minute, how much is that gonna cost,’ and having to go through that,” she continued. “This removes the financial barriers when it’s medically necessary for the breast cancer screening and diagnostic imaging.”
Ahead of the committee meeting on Wednesday, the legislation received an endorsement from the national breast cancer nonprofit, Susan G. Komen.
“Nobody should be forced to skip medical care that helps to detect breast cancer early because of the cost, yet thousands of Alabamians are forced to make that decision every year,” Susan G. Komen Vice President of Policy and Advocacy Molly Guthrie said. “This is a pivotal step toward reducing overall health care costs by enabling earlier detection, more timely treatment and better outcomes.”
In a statement released by the organization, Holk-Jones said she hopes the bill will allow more women in Alabama to receive breast cancer screenings.
“When we remove financial barriers to preventative care, we give Alabama women and their families the best chance to catch cancer early—when it’s most treatable,” the representative said. “This is about health, dignity, and fairness for every community in Alabama.”
The bill’s Senate sponsor said the legislation is a way for Alabama lawmakers to support access to important women’s healthcare across the state.
“Early detection, intervention, and early prevention of breast cancer can mean the difference between long term medical care, chemotherapy, and higher medical costs. Alabama is one of only 20 states that has not enacted legislation that supports diagnostic screening when abnormalities are detected,” said Coleman-Madison.
“SB177 would put the state of Alabama among those states that support women’s health. I am honored to offer this bill that will assist in improving the physical health for all women and encourage my colleagues in the legislature to support to pass SB177,” the senator added.
The committee voted to approve two amendments to Holk-Jones’ legislation during its meeting: one that clarified the bill’s wording and another that would make the bill go into effect Jan. 1, 2027, if passed, instead of Oct. 1, 2026.
The nonprofit cited a study it conducted, which found that out-of-pocket costs for patients range from $234 for a diagnostic mammogram to more than $1,000 for a breast MRI, as well as a study that found 1 in 5 patients said they would not attend a recommended follow-up imaging appointment if they had to pay a deductible.
The committee also reviewed HB40, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, and SB19, sponsored by Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, which would similarly mandate that insurance providers cover the costs of prostate cancer screenings for high-risk men.
The legislation has received endorsements from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, as well as prostate cancer nonprofit ZERO Prostate Cancer.
The bill defines high-risk men as men over 50 years old, Black men, or men with a family member who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer or a related form of cancer.
The insurance committee voted unanimously to give favorable reports to both versions of the legislation. The committee also voted to adopt amendments to change the bills’ effective dates to Jan. 1, 2027.
Following the committee meeting, Jane Adams, government relations director for ACS CAN Alabama, released a statement expressing support for the screening bills that were advanced.
“ACS CAN applauds lawmakers for their swift action this legislative session in working to address the cancer burden,” said Adams. “Everyone deserves to have the screenings and tests they need, without cost barriers, so they can catch and treat cancer early, leading to better survival rates.”
SB19 has been passed by the Alabama Senate and will advance to the House floor for a vote.
Gray’s version of the legislation will also progress to the House for a vote, alongside HB300.
