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| State Sen. George S. Logan |
NEW HAVEN -The Radiological Society of Connecticut (www.ctrad.org) has honored state Sen. George S. Logan, R-Ansonia, for his advocacy of patients and legislation that will encourage women to have life-saving breast cancer screenings.
The group gave Logan their “Patient Hero” award at its semi-annual meeting in New Haven last month.
Logan, who serves as Vice-Chair of the state legislature’s Public Health Committee, was a strong supporter of House Bill 5208 this past session. Titled An Act Concerning Mammograms, Breast Ultrasounds and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Breasts, the legislation will enable women to have their annual breast exam using the latest technology without having to pay a deductible or copay.
The technology is called Breast Tomosynthesis, a three dimensional mammogram, which enables the radiologist to better determine if small cancers are present in the breast. The test has been shown to reduce by 40 percent patient callbacks for an additional test due to the uncertainty of images.
“This legislation is critical for our ability to make sure that patients continue to have access to these needed mammography tests,” Alan Kaye, MD, president of the RSC, said.
House Bill 5208 resolves a “glitch” in the current law. Because Breast Tomosynthesis has a separate code than mammography, it has been deemed to not be a mammogram for insurance reimbursement purposes.
This has meant a woman is charged a deductible or co-pay for the test, even though it is preventive in nature and should come at no cost to the patient in her annual screening.
The RSC thanked Logan for showing a “significant knowledge” of health care policy and for using that knowledge to benefit patients.
The legislation passed both the House and Senate this year and was signed into law by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy as Public Act 18-159. It is effective Jan. 1, 2019.
This is a press release from Logan's office.
