Employees covered by the state group health insurance plan will have free access to annual skin cancer screenings effective July 1 under bills that are moving through the Legislature.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government unanimously approved SB 56. That sends the bill, filed by Sen. Gayle Harrell, to its last stop at the Senate Appropriations Committee. HB 241 is the companion measure and it's identical to the Senate bill. The House measure has cleared two committees and next heads to the Health & Human Services Committee
The Division of State Group Insurance within the Department of Management Services (DMS) estimates the bills would result in an annual increase of $416,5031 to the state employee group health plan.
But as initially filed, the measures would have cost much more. The original bills would have required all individual health insurers, all group, blanket and franchise health insurers, and all health maintenance organizations (HMOs) to cover and pay for annual skin cancer screenings performed by a Florida licensed dermatologist. Estimates put the potential cost impact as high as $16 million.
Because the bills would have altered the mandated benefits and would have impacted so-called Obamacare plans, the state would be required to absorb the costs, not the insurance industry or the insured.
Harrell, though, said the mandate is a cost saver, not a cost driver, noting that some melanomas can cost upward of $500,000 to treat if not detected early.
A legislative staff analysis underscores her point. According to a legislative staff analysis, in 2018 four of the five cities in the U.S. with the highest skin cancer prevalence rates were found in Florida: Sarasota-Bradenton (10%), Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie (9.5%), West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (9.5%), and Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay (8.6 %)
"What we are doing here is going to prove a point, especially melanoma. The long-term consequences, fiscal, are huge when treating it," she said. "This is a fiscal impact on the state group insurance plan but in the long run, we're going to show it's going to save money and it's going to save lives."
The bill requires that the annual exam be conducted by either a dermatologist or an advanced practice registered nurse who is under the supervision of a dermatologist. Moreover, the bill prohibits all contracted state group health insurance plans or HMOs from bundling payment for a skin cancer screening with any other procedure or service.
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