Requires providers of mammography services to inform patients of irregular results on their breast exams

Summary of provisions

Section one amends the public health law by adding a new section 2404-c which requires the commissioner to develop a written notification informing patients who have dense tissue: that their mammography found dense tissue, that they have dense tissue, that dense tissue may reduce the sensitivity of mammography screening and interfere with the detection of abnormalities, that their physician has been notified, and that they should consult with their physician about further screening options. The notification will be included with the federally required mammography report sent to the patient and patient's physician.

Section two sets forth the effective date on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.

Existing law

Current law requires coverage for mammography screening for individuals, based upon personal or family history and the age of the individual. Mammography screening is defined as X-ray examination under current law. There are no requirements for patients to be alerted to breast density.

Justification

One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes, and one woman dies of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the United States. Cancer is four to six times more likely in women with dense breast tissue and 40 percent of women have dense tissue. 71 percent of all breast cancers occur in women with dense breast tissue (as stated in a 2010 study published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology). Mammograms fail to detect about half the tumors present in dense breast tissue as dense tissue obscures the presence of the tumors. Follow-up studies after a similar dense breast tissue law passed in Connecticut in 2009 show that for women with dense tissue, the addition of a screening ultrasound nearly doubles the number of cancers found by mammography alone. In New York State, that number extrapolates to at least 2000 cancers a year in women who are told their mammogram results are "normal/negative," but who, in actuality, have invasive breast cancer.

Missed cancers, growing undetected until at a later stage, are less treatable, least survivable and most expensive to treat.

Over 20 years ago, elected officials and medical experts reached a consensus that early breast cancer detection saved lives and states began requiring insurance coverage for mammograms. In order to ensure that patients received information about relevant mammographic findings, a federal law was enacted requiring a mammography report be issued to patients to help them partner with their physician in their health care vigilance.

A woman's breast density is determined through the mammography exam. Breast density not only dramatically compromises the effectiveness of a mammogram, but is, in and of itself, a risk factor for developing breast cancer. Women with dense breasts have a greater risk of developing breast cancer than those who have a first degree relative who have had the disease. Unfortunately, there is currently no protocol for density information to be shared with patients. The mammography reports to patients, citing a "normal" finding when the radiologist does not know, with any reasonable certainty what is lurking behind dense tissue - gives women a false sense of security.

Now, twenty years later, states are recognizing that, for a significant percentage of women, the mammography insurance coverage and notification requirements are not sufficient. The report a woman receives after her mammogram is required to be a summary, in lay language, of her mammographic findings. Information about breast density is a material medical finding which must be shared with patients. This legislation will give women with dense tissue the information and opportunity to get adequate baseline and follow-up screening. Without it, women with dense tissue are effectively denied equal access to early cancer detection.

Legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Local fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This bill takes effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.