Variability in mammography screening legislation across the states

Before passage of the Federal legislation, National Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Act (NBCCSA) in 1991, over half the states (65%) had preexisting laws requiring health insurers, for example, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and HMOs, to provide services beyond the federal coverage for mammography screening and care following breast cancer. This study examined mammography screening legislation across the states. Data were derived from telephone interviews with six NBCCSA program directors or coordinators from July 1999 to October 1999. A review of existing documents from the Institute for Women's Policy Research, online data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state laws provided by the Governmental Affairs Division of the American Cancer Society was undertaken. There was considerable variability in relation to factors potentially related to the extent of state laws. The states with the lowest age-adjusted breast cancer mortality rates among black women had the least comprehensive state legislation. Several states with the least percent of women above the federal poverty threshold also had the least comprehensive legislation. Some states had a wide gap between the provision of health insurance coverage and scope of legislation to ensure care following breast cancer. Some states were more aggressive in their efforts to ensure care following breast malignancy at diagnosis. Lessons could be learned by states that enacted the least comprehensive legislation. With the passage of the federal legislation nearly a decade ago, more women are receiving timely and available mammography screening, resulting in earlier diagnosis of breast cancer. Greater efforts must be undertaken by all states to provide the full array of breast cancer treatment for women in the millennium.