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Senators introduce S 1 54 to expand insurance coverage for biomarker testing
Summary
A bill introduced in a Vermont Senate committee would require insurers to cover biomarker tests that can speed diagnosis and access to treatment for diseases including Alzheimer’s, sponsors said; no vote was taken.
A senator introducing legislation said the Vermont Senate committee on Finance heard a proposal, S 1 54, intended to ensure health insurance keeps pace with scientific advances by covering biomarker testing that can help identify and treat disease.
The sponsor said S 1 54 would "ensure insurance coverage keeps up with science, and Vermonters have access to the latest tools to better identify and treat diseases." The bill, introduced late in the session and sponsored by Senator Brock and the unnamed proposer, aims to reduce diagnostic delays and lower downstream costs to families and state programs, the sponsor said.
The sponsor told the committee biomarker testing — "biological markers, which are measurable indicators of biological changes happening in the body" — is increasingly used to diagnose conditions earlier and more accurately. "This legislation will save individuals, the state, and insurance companies money by focusing time and resources in more specific and accurate ways," the sponsor said. The sponsor also said about "almost 13,000 people 65 living with Alzheimer's or another dementia," and that without action some dementia diagnoses can take up to two years, increasing long-term costs.
The sponsor cited national advocacy and the bill's momentum elsewhere: the American Cancer Society, Cancer Action Network, and the Alzheimer's Association are backing similar legislation nationwide, the sponsor said, noting that 20 states passed related laws last year and 14 states were working on them this year.
Another member of the panel raised a financing question during the discussion, asking whether the decision "may come down to who's gonna pay at the insurance companies or full payment for the cost." The committee did not take a vote on the bill; the sponsor said the item was placed on the agenda primarily to "introduce it and get it started" and indicated they expected further work on it in the next session.
No statutory citations or specific regulatory mechanisms to require coverage were presented at the introduction. Committee discussion focused on the aims of expanding access to biomarker testing, the potential for earlier treatment, and the practical question of cost allocation between insurers, providers and state programs.
The bill remains in an introductory stage; sponsors said they plan to continue work on it in a future session.
