Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 16
AMNY: Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in New York will now have greater access to hair-preservation treatments, thanks to new legislation requiring insurance providers to cover the cost of scalp cooling systems.
The bill, co-sponsored by State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky and Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal, was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday, Dec. 13.
With this groundbreaking legislation, New York becomes the first state in the country to mandate insurance coverage for scalp cooling therapy— a treatment that can help reduce hair loss, a common side effect of chemotherapy.
Stavisky, who represents Queens’ 16th Senate District, including Flushing, Bayside, and Kew Gardens Hills, and Rosenthal, representing Manhattan’s Upper West Side and Hell’s Kitchen, introduced the legislation in 2023 to provide critical support for cancer patients.
“This legislation is important to those undergoing chemotherapy treatments,” Stavisky said in a statement. “An individual will be viewed not as a sick person but as a person.”
Rosenthal also welcomed the news that the legislation had been signed into law, stating that cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy often report that hair loss adds to the trauma of their diagnosis.
“This first-in-the-nation legislation gives cancer patients, particularly women, an opportunity to reclaim a small part of themselves as they navigate one of the most tumultuous times of their lives,” Rosenthal said.
Under the new law, large private health insurance plans must provide coverage for scalp cooling systems that are used in connection with chemotherapy treatment.
The US Food and Drug Administration has already approved three different scalp cooling systems, and Medicare and Medicaid already cover them.
A number of healthcare organizations, major hospitals and research centers supported the legislation, including the American Cancer Society, Sharing and Caring, the Rapunzel Project, the American Nursing Association, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Columbia, Mount Sinai, Northwell, Weill Cornell, NYU, Montefiore, Stony Brook University, Roswell Park, the University of Rochester Medical Center and New York Health and Hospitals.
