HCS HB 1215 -- HEALTH INSURANCE

SPONSOR:  Luetkenhaus (Treadway)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Insurance
by a vote of 12 to 1 with 2 present.

This substitute requires health benefit plans to include coverage
for bone marrow testing when the testing is done in a licensed
facility and is performed as part of the National Bone Marrow
Donor Program.  The coverage would apply only to testing of
health plan members, and reimbursement for the testing may be
capped at $125.

FISCAL NOTE:  Not available at time of printing.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that encouraging people to have this
test performed will save lives and do so at a relatively low
cost.

Testifying for the bill was Representative Treadway.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that most donor
screening is done ahead of time (i.e., before possible recipients
are even discovered).  Hence, it is short-sighted to cover only
the members of a given health plan, when the prospective donors
may not belong to a health plan.  Also, the cost of the testing
varies significantly and most tests would likely cost more than
what the proponents claim.

Testifying against the bill were Blue Cross/Blue Shield; and Mid
America Health.

Richard Smreker, Senior Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:00 am