Women's health parity bills heard by Senate panel

CARSON CITY - Women pay more for health care than men even when they're insured, senators were told as four bills dealing with women's access to health care were reviewed by a Senate committee.

Three of the bills mandate that health insurance plans cover birth control and early testing for breast cancer and osteoporosis. But critics told the Commerce and Labor committee the measures would cover only 30 percent of insured Nevadans.

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, told the panel Thursday that still amounts to about 500,000 people who would be covered.

Giunchigliani sponsored AB60, which would require health insurers to cover prescription contraceptives and hormone therapy if they cover other prescription drugs.

"It is legislation that would end gender bias in the health care field at least as far as contraceptives and hormone therapy are concerned," said Jennifer Rains, a legislative intern for Giunchigliani.

Giuchigliani said her bill would be cost-neutral because businesses purchasing insurance plans could choose not to include other prescriptions.

The committee also considered mandates for early screening for breast cancer and osteoporosis. AB162 would allow women to receive mammograms at any age if medically necessary. AB163 would mandate early testing for osteoporosis starting at age 50.

The key to beating both diseases is early detection, said Assemblywoman Merle Berman, R-Las Vegas, a breast cancer survivor who sponsored both bills.

"We should use logic in health care, and pay upfront for prevention," Berman said. She passed on letters from women who were diagnosed before age 50 with osteoporosis, including Rep. Shelley Berkley and Nevada's first lady, Dema Guinn.

AB163 had a broad base of support in the audience, including the Nevada Federation of Republican Women. Sherry Dilley, a lobbyist for the group, said she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 42.

Other groups supporting the bills included Planned Parenthood, the Progressive Leadership Alliance, League of Women Voters, the Sierra Club and the Nevada State Medical Association.

Though Giunchigliani and others advocates for the mandates said the bills would save money for insurance companies by using preventative medicine, representatives for businesses and the insurance industry said otherwise.

"There's no free lunch," said Bob Ostrovsky, representing Nevadans for Affordable Health Care. "The question is, can we as a community afford this bill?"

The estimated the cost of AB60, AB162 and AB163 would be $39 million, passed on to employers and employees, added Marie Soldo of Sierra Health Services.

Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, a longtime opponent of mandates, said Nevada already has 30 mandates on the books, referring to a study by Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

However, those mandates aren't all for services, such as birth control. Among the legislated mandates are ambulance transportation, coverage for newborns and adopted children and emergency services.

Insurers didn't oppose AB515, by Assemblywoman Marcia de Braga, D-Fallon. AB515 would allow women to see their obstetrician or gynecologist without first being referred by a primary physician.

"This would result in savings to the insurance companies and the patient by cutting out one step in the process," said de Braga.

Supporters of AB515 said it will help with access to health care, since 75 percent of women's health care needs are gynecological in nature.

"It's a common sense approach to the reality of women's health care," said Larry Matheis of the Nevada State Medical Association.

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