BILL NUMBER:S6760

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public health law, in relation to the duty of mammography
services to notify patients in certain circumstances

PURPOSE:
This bill requires specific written notification to the patient and
the patient's physician of a finding of dense breast tissue in a
mammography screening and the need to consult with the physician
about additional screening.

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.