Certain health insurance policies will be required to cover biomarker testing to diagnose and treat diseases like cancer under a bill passed unanimously Wednesday by the Connecticut Senate.
The Senate’s action follows a similar unanimous vote by the House earlier this month and sends the legislation to the desk of Gov. Ned Lamont.
Wednesday’s debate was led by Sen. Jan Hochadel, a Meriden Democrat who co-chair’s the legislature’s Aging Committee. Hochadel said the proposal was of special significance to her.
“As a cancer survivor, I was proud to lead the Senate in unanimously adopting a policy that will help future cancer patients receive personalized care to match their genetic make up with the most effective course of treatment,” Hochadel said. “With this new coverage requirement, more Connecticut patients will have a better shot at beating cancer.”
H.B. 6771 makes several changes to Connecticut’s health care and insurance laws including the biomarker testing requirement. The testing helps doctors to identify the most effective treatments to fight conditions like cancer based on a patient’s genetic makeup.
The proposal has enjoyed broad support since it was raised by the Aging Committee early this year. At a public hearing in February, doctors testified that improved access to biomarker testing could improve patient outcomes while broader insurance coverage could reduce health disparities present in communities of color and rural areas with fewer provider options.
In written testimony, Hartford HealthCare Doctors Andrew Salner and Peter Yu stressed the importance of removing barriers to biomarker testing.
“Cancer outcomes have dramatically improved as a result of precision oncology, whereby we personalize the care a cancer patient receives to precisely target their cancer cells,” Salner and Yu wrote. “The knowledge of tumor biomarkers is the basis for precision oncology and is a more effective cancer treatment with fewer patient side-effects.”
The bill includes a number of other changes like establishing a 15-member Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Task Force to examine the needs of Connecticut residents living with dementia and the services currently available to them.
The group will also be expected to develop a State Alzheimer’s Plan to examine the service needs of people with Alzheimer’s, assess the existing resources available to them, and develop strategies to increase public awareness and improve related health care services.
Other sections of the bill will impact Connecticut’s long-term care facilities and their residents. For instance, H.B. 6771 requires all prospective employees to undergo a criminal history and patient abuse background check.
The bill includes provisions designed to protect long-term care facility residents in the event of facility closures.
One such section requires a closing facility to consider a resident’s closeness to family and support networks as they work to identify an appropriate placement. Another provision establishing a working group to examine state policies impacting residential care home evacuation procedures.
