Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Healthcare Screening topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Assembly committee hears bill to require insurer coverage for lung cancer screening
Summary
Lawmakers heard testimony on SB 387 to require commercial insurers to cover low-dose CT lung cancer screening in line with American Cancer Society guidelines, with supporters citing improved survival from early detection and a Division of Insurance neutral note on a pending Supreme Court case that could affect federal guidance.
Sen. Roberta Lang, representing Senate District 7 in Clark County, opened the hearing on Senate Bill 387 on April 24, explaining the measure would require commercial health insurers to cover lung cancer screening and related treatment consistent with guidelines from the American Cancer Society and other nationally recognized organizations.
The bill’s sponsor and physicians testifying said earlier detection of lung cancer saves lives. “Lung cancer is curable if caught early,” said Dr. Vishesh Mehta, director of interventional pulmonology at the Lung Center of Nevada and chair of pulmonology at Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas. “Low-dose CT screening…has been proven to reduce lung cancer–related mortality by up to 20 percent in high-risk patients.”
Supporters including the Nevada Oncology Society, Nevada Cancer Coalition, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the American Lung Association recommended the committee approve SB 387. They cited national statistics and research showing substantially higher 5-year survival for cancers detected at an early, localized stage than for cancers found in advanced stages.
Lang said the reprinted (amended) bill removes several earlier provisions and instead requires insurers that issue policies in Nevada to provide coverage for lung cancer screening and treatment “in accordance with the guidelines for such screenings published by the American Cancer Society” and other nationally recognized professional organizations supported by prevailing scientific data. The amendment also authorizes the Commissioner of Insurance to require out-of-state policies covering Nevada residents to include the amended coverage language and to take enforcement action against insurers that fail to comply.
The bill also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study of whether American Cancer Society screening criteria create access inequities based on race, sex, or gender identity or expression, and to report recommendations to the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Health and Human Services.
The Nevada Division of Insurance testified neutral and said its analysis treats SB 387 as providing preventive benefits comparable to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force grade B recommendation for lung cancer screening and therefore would not trigger federal defrayal provisions as currently constituted. The division added that its conclusion is contingent on the outcome of a pending U.S. Supreme Court case, Braidwood Management, Inc. v. Kennedy, that could change the legal status of USPSTF recommendations and affect federal cost-sharing rules.
Committee members asked few technical questions. No formal vote was recorded during the hearing; the committee took testimony from stakeholders and closed the hearing after question-and-answer.
If enacted as amended, SB 387 would align commercial coverage for lung cancer screening with recognized screening guidelines and direct a state study of potential inequities in eligibility criteria.
Support testimony and professional statements are on the record, and a neutral analysis from the Division of Insurance is part of the hearing record.
