Senate committee sends bill to floor to require insurers cover supplemental breast imaging for high‑risk patients

The Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 134 to the Senate floor with a do‑pass recommendation after hearing testimony that supplemental breast imaging can detect cancers that mammograms may miss for people identified as high risk.

Representative Brooke Green of District 18, one of the bill sponsors, told the committee the measure would require private health plans — excluding Medicaid and certain self‑insured plans — to cover supplemental breast screening, including MRI, contrast‑enhanced mammography or ultrasound, for people with clinical risk factors such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, prior radiation to the chest or extremely dense breast tissue. "This bill is about aligning existing benefits," Green said. "This bill also corrects inconsistencies. And lastly, this bill provides and ensures payment parity."

Representative Healy of District 15, a co-sponsor, said insurance in practice sometimes covers the tests but applies them to a deductible, which can leave patients facing large out‑of‑pocket charges. "What we're asking is for this to become a screening," Healy said, explaining the sponsors want…