Congressional Quarterly

CQ HEALTHBEAT NEWS
April 6, 2007 - 3:50 p.m.

'Report Card' Rates States' Colon Cancer Screening Laws
By Caitlin Webber, CQ Staff

States with laws that require health insurance companies to cover colon cancer screening have significantly higher screening rates than states without coverage legislation, according to a recently released "report card" of state colon cancer screening laws.

The report, compiled by the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, follows a January announcement by the American Cancer Society that the number of colon cancer deaths continued to decline in 2004.

"This decrease, coupled with evidence of improved screening rates in states with legislation, shows that state laws requiring insurers to cover the full range of colon cancer tests have a tremendous, lifesaving impact," said Daniel E. Smith, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

A May 2006 study by the American Cancer Society found that screening rates in states with coverage laws had risen 40 percent faster between 1999 and 2004 than states without such laws. Twenty-one states have enacted laws requiring insurers to cover the screening. Thirty-two states do not require insurance coverage of comprehensive screening.

Colon cancer is second only to lung cancer for cancer deaths in the United States.

· Colon Cancer Report Card

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