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Committee sends bill to end cost‑sharing for genetic testing for inherited cancer risk to oversight
Summary
Senate Bill 109, which would remove patient cost‑sharing for genetic testing when an inherited risk is demonstrated, was advanced by the House Health Committee on a 4-0 vote after lawmakers discussed prevalence, potential premium impacts and long‑term savings from early detection.
The House Health Committee voted 4-0 to advance Senate Bill 109, which would eliminate insurers' cost‑sharing for genetic testing for people who demonstrate an increased inherited risk for cancer.
Representative Miller, the sponsor, told the committee the change is intended for people identified as having demonstrated inherited risk; if testing confirms a high‑risk genetic mutation, those people would be covered for increased surveillance intended to detect cancer earlier. Miller said the bill targets a small population and cited prior analyses indicating low per‑policy premium increases.
Miller said, "If that person does in fact have a genetic mutation that causes, a very high level of risk, they are then going to be covered for increased surveillance of that cancer detection." He referenced prior work on a biomarking bill and a state chamber study that estimated prior, similar bills produced very low average premium impacts (he cited figures in the range of about 30 cents on average policies for one comparison bill).
Committee members asked about likely costs and long‑term savings. Miller noted that most breast cancers are sporadic and that only about 5 to 10 percent are attributable to inherited mutations. He provided the committee with risk ranges discussed in the transcript for BRCA variants, saying BRCA1 can be associated with an "up to an 82 to 83 percent" chance of breast cancer and BRCA2 with "up to about 60, 65 percent" in some presentations; he and other members argued that identifying high‑risk people could reduce downstream treatment costs through earlier intervention.
A committee member noted a fiscal‑note estimate of about $150,000; members discussed that earlier detection and prophylactic interventions for people identified as high risk could generate net savings compared with the costs of advanced cancer care.
The committee voted 4 aye, 0 nay and forwarded the bill to the oversight committee for further consideration.
