An act to amend the insurance law to improve access to biomarker testing has reached the governor’s desk.
The bill, which has wide bipartisan support, would strengthen requirements on insurance companies to provide access to the testing.
A "biomarker" is a sign of disease, or abnormal function that can be measured in blood, tissue, or body fluid. Biomarker testing examines those elements in search of abnormalities in order to develop a personalized treatment plan. Advocates say the bill would level the playing field and ensure that treatment is available to all New Yorkers.
“Biomarker testing is a precision medicine tool that is really quickly becoming a standard of care,” said Michael Davoli, senior government relations director for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network. He says access to biomarker testing is an invaluable tool.
“It’s utilized to inform the treatment plans and match patients to the targeted therapy that is best for their disease,” he said.
The legislation will require that every state-regulated insurance plan, including Medicaid, provide coverage for biomarker testing when medically appropriate. Davoli says those cases go beyond just cancer treatment.
“It’s not just a cancer bill,” Davoli said. “It ensures that if the science says that biomarker testing could be used to help treat a patience regardless of what their disease, if the science dictates it, then it should be covered.
Assemblyman Brian Maher is a cosponsor of the bill. He says he has a personal connection to any effort to improve early cancer detection and ensure families have options.
“My grandmother passed away before I was born. My father was 14 years old when he lost his mother. My Aunt Rosa is a cancer survivor,” he said.
He said the state must step in and remove economic barriers to ensure that everyone has access to the resources needed to develop a treatment plan that works for them.
“We have the ability as legislators and the governor has the ability to sign this bill and fight for people who don’t have access to the information they need to survive,” Maher said.
There was initially some concern that the bill as originally written was too broad, but the New York Health Plan Association said that amendments made during negotiations earlier this year satisfied those concerns.
Davoli is urging the governor to sign the bill, saying that with further advancements in technology opening up more expensive treatment options, not acting will increase disparities in health care.
"This is a health-equity issue, it’s a lifesaving issue, and the governor should embrace it,” he said.
He stressed he is urging the governor to sign the bill exactly as it was written with no amendments.
Spectrum News 1 reached out to the governor’s office, and were told she is reviewing the legislation.