Senate Bill No. 477
(By Senators Prezioso, Oliverio, Jenkins, Dempsey, Hunter,
Foster, Kessler, Minear and Unger)
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[Introduced February 2, 2006; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on
Banking and Insurance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §33-15-4c of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to insurance coverage for
mammograms, pap smears and human papillomavirus.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §33-15-4c of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE.
§33-15-4c. Third party reimbursement for mammography or pap smear
testing.
Notwithstanding any provision of any policy, provision,
contract, plan or agreement to which this article applies, whenever
reimbursement or indemnity for laboratory or X ray services are
covered, reimbursement or indemnification shall not be denied for
any of the following mammograms or pap smears when performed for
cancer screening or diagnostic purposes, at the direction of a
person licensed to practice medicine and surgery by the board of
medicine:
(1) A baseline mammogram for women age thirty-five to
thirty-nine, inclusive;
(2) A mammogram for women age forty to forty-nine, inclusive,
every two years or more frequently based on the woman's physician's
recommendation;
(3) A mammogram every year for women age fifty and over;
(4) A pap smear, either conventional or liquid-based cytology,
whichever is medically appropriate in the opinion of the woman's
physician annually or more frequently based on the woman's
physician's recommendation for women age eighteen or over;
(5) A human papillomavirus (HPV
), annually or more frequently
for women aged eighteen or over.
A policy, provision, contract, plan or agreement may apply to
mammograms, or pap smears or human papillomavirus (HPV
)
the same
deductibles, coinsurance and other limitations as apply to other
covered services.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for insurance
coverage for medically indicated mammograms, pap smears and human
papillomavirus testing for cancer detection.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.