Cancer Drug Parity Bill Passes Assembly
A bill that requires medical insurance plans with cancer coverage to pay more for oral chemotherapy medications passes the Assembly 39-0 on Tuesday.
SB266, which passed the Nevada Senate unanimously in April, would require health insurers to not charge patients more for oral chemotherapy medications (pills) than patients who are undergoing traditional IV chemotherapy. Such drugs can cost patients as much as $2,000 to $10,000 per month.
During a legislative panel on May 10, Sen. Mo Denis, a supporter of the bill, said SB266 would let cancer patients seek the most effective treatment to fight the disease without having to first consider the costs of the chemo drugs.
Nevada becomes the twenty-fourth state to have already passed similar legislation in the past six years.