Pa. Lawmakers Eye Ending $1,000+ Bills For Breast Cancer Follow-Up Imaging

By Emily Previti, Pennsylvania Capital-Star

June 26, 2025

The state Senate has passed a bill that would eliminate out-of-pocket costs for follow-up breast imaging after a mammogram detects an abnormality.

Under current state law, insurance companies must fully cover mammograms for those over the age of 40, in some cases, younger with a doctor’s recommendation. They also have to provide no-cost coverage of follow-up MRIs and ultrasounds for those at high risk for breast cancer.

Senate Bill 88 would expand that to mandate no-cost coverage for patients regardless of risk, if a previous screening detected an abnormality or their doctor recommends it.

Sponsor Sen. Frank Farry (R-Bucks) said his wife has battled breast cancer during the past 18 months.

“Some initial diagnostic screenings are inconclusive. They show something, but it’s not a clear diagnosis. And, unfortunately, [patients] may have to pay for further diagnostic testing to find out if they have breast cancer,” Farry said. “I know the challenges our family has faced. And we are very blessed to have good health insurance and access to wonderful health care providers in southeastern Pennsylvania. But not every Pennsylvanian can say that.”

Co-sponsors include Sen. Tracy Pennycuick (R-Berks/Montgomery), whose 21-year-old daughter and half a dozen other relatives have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Another is state Sen. Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland), herself a breast cancer survivor.

“I see every day, young women who don’t really even qualify for any kind of breast cancer screening, they have breast cancer,” Ward said. “And if they hadn’t pushed forward on their own, maybe paid for some of that care, we’d never know that they had breast cancer until it’s way too late.”

Ward has been a leader in expanding breast cancer prevention coverage in the commonwealth.

Out-of-pocket costs for follow-up imaging often exceed $1,000, according to Pat Halpin-Murphy, president and founder of Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition.

Halpin-Murphy said she’s seen bills far beyond that, including a recent one for more than $4,700.

About 20 percent of patients say they would skip breast cancer screenings and follow-up exams if they had to pay a deductible, according to a study published in Radiology in 2022.

“Early detection means nothing if patients can’t afford the diagnostic imaging needed to confirm or rule out cancer,” said Sen. Devlin Robinson (R-Allegheny). “This bill closes that gap.”

Coverage would begin in 2027 if the House passes Senate Bill 88 in time for Gov. Josh Shapiro to sign it before the end of October. That timeline accounts for the eight-month onset window set out in the bill ahead of insurance companies’ July deadline to submit rates to the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance, Halpin-Murphy confirmed.

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