A Senate Republican has proposed a bill that would require health insurance policies to cover annual skin cancer screenings performed by dermatologists.
Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Chair Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, filed the bill (SB 56) for consideration during the legislative session that will start in January.
It would require policies to cover skin cancer screenings by Jan. 1, 2025, and would bar imposing deductibles, co-payments or other types of cost-sharing requirements on patients.
During the 2023 session, a bipartisan measure proposing full insurance coverage of skin cancer screenings did not make it out of the Senate.
That measure was co-sponsored in the House by Rep. Ralph Massullo, R-Lecanto, a dermatologist who says he treats an increasing number of patients with skin cancers. He says removing financial barriers to screenings could save lives.
