A new Arizona law requires commercial insurance companies to cover diagnostic mammograms without customer copays when an initial scan shows something abnormal.

Until now, women have often had to pay out of pocket for the follow-up mammogram.

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Senator Hildy Angius, R-Bullhead City, a breast cancer survivor, authored the bill after working with the governor and insurance companies to build support for it. Angius said she has personal experience with the stress and expense of follow-up mammograms, as well as with a cancer diagnosis.

“It was very sort of fresh in my head about why this is so important, especially for younger women, because it’s very costly,” Angius explained. “For me, it was $2,500.”

The law has been years in the making in Arizona. Insurance companies previously pushed back, citing concerns covering follow-up visits could open the door to other costs.

Angius pointed out because the federal Affordable Care Act covers follow-up mammograms, it has been confusing to consumers why most commercial insurers in Arizona had not already adopted the practice.

“I think a lot of people like myself thought, ‘OK, well, that includes all the mammograms, even the more important ones that tell you whether or not you actually have something,’” she added. “But that isn’t the way it was.”

The new law specifically requires commercial insurance companies to eliminate customer copays for diagnostic mammograms.