Relates to coverage for cancer screenings

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jake Ashby and 6 co-sponsors

S 4049 would require insurers to cover recommended cancer screenings with little or no cost-sharing, boosting access and early detection.

REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT

S 4049 — Relates to coverage for cancer screenings

Overview

S 4049, introduced on January 31, 2025, seeks to address coverage for cancer screenings. The bill is currently REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, indicating it is moving through the committee review phase in the Senate. The primary sponsor is James Skoufis, with several cosponsors listed.

Purpose and intent

The bill’s title suggests its aim is to ensure or expand coverage for cancer screening services. This typically involves reducing or eliminating barriers to access (such as patient cost-sharing) for recommended cancer screening tests, thereby promoting early detection and potentially improving health outcomes.

Key provisions (note on text availability)

The full text of S 4049 is not provided in the materials you shared, so the exact statutory changes are not enumerated here.

In bills of this type, common provisions may include:

Requiring health insurers/health plans to cover recommended cancer screenings (e.g., mammograms, colonoscopies, CT lung screens, PSA tests) without or with limited cost-sharing when consistent with applicable clinical guidelines.
Extending coverage for follow-up diagnostic procedures arising from screening results.
Specifying in-network requirements and alignment with federal or state preventive-service guidelines.
Potential regulatory or enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance by issuers.

If you need precise provisions, the bill text and fiscal notes should be consulted once available.

Affected parties and impact

Patients/consumers: Potentially lower out-of-pocket costs for recommended cancer screenings and related follow-up care, improving access and encouraging adherence to screening schedules.

Insurers/health plans: May face new or expanded obligations to cover screenings with limited or no cost-sharing, which could affect premium calculations and plan design.

Healthcare providers: May experience changes in billing practices and potentially increased screening referrals, with downstream effects on screening uptake.

Related legislation

S 8340 (prior-session) — Indicates a previous Senate inclusion of a similar cancer-screening coverage concept.

A 1066 (companion) — The Assembly counterpart to the Senate bill, suggesting parallel legislative activity and opportunities for alignment between houses.

Timeline and procedural notes

Introduced: January 31, 2025

Status: REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT (Senate committee stage)

Legislative actions listed: both entries show the bill being referred to Local Government on January 31, 2025

Next steps: If advanced, the Local Government committee would review the bill, hold hearings, and consider amendments before moving to a floor vote. The companion Assembly bill (A 1066) would undergo similar consideration in the Assembly.

Summary

S 4049 proposes to address coverage for cancer screenings and is moving through the Legislature’s Local Government committee process. While the exact provisions are not provided here, the bill’s purpose appears to center on expanding access to recommended cancer screenings, likely through insurer coverage requirements and potential reductions in patient cost-sharing. For a precise understanding of substantive changes, the full bill text and any fiscal impact statements should be reviewed once available.