http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Jeff%20Cohen/2012_05_07_JC%20120507%20Colonoscopy.mp3
Under the nation's new health care laws, most preventative screenings should come at no additional cost to patients.But what happens when a screening turns into a procedure. As WNPR's Jeff Cohen reports, that can happen with colonoscopies -- and there's a bill before the legislature to address the issue.
So you're getting acolonoscopy, which essentially is a look around your colon. That's a screening. But then the doctor sees something, like a polyp, and removes it. Now that turns the screening into something more -- a procedure that could cost several hundred dollars.State Representative Robert Megna wants to make sure that patients don't get left with a co-payment or deductible.
"It was happening sporadically."
Megna is the house chairman of the legislature's Insurance and Real Estate Committee.
"I spoke with some of the healthcare government relations people for several of the healthcare companies and they've informed me that, correct, there is meant to be no deductible or co-payment on the colonoscopy for screening and that they believe that it's isolated circumstances."
That said, Megna says the bill is necessary to clarify the law so that nothing discourages patients from getting possibly life-saving screenings.
The bill is supported by the American Cancer Society, but both the Connecticut Association of Health Plans and the Connecticut Business and Industry Association oppose it. They say it would just add a cost that will be passed on to consumers in higher premiums.
The bill has passed the senate. It has yet to be called in the house. The session ends Wednesday.
For WNPR, I'm Jeff Cohen.
This story is part of a reporting project with WNPR, NPR, and Kaiser Health News.
