Andy Manis for Wisconsin Watch
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Burlington, talks to the media on Jan. 24, 2024.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester): 'We are looking into whether or not Wisconsin has to do it.'
Nearly three months after a popular breast cancer screening bill sailed through the state Senate with bipartisan support, the legislation remains in limbo in the Assembly.
Advocates for the bill told Isthmus in November that Assembly Speaker Vos (R-Rochester) was blocking its passage due to concerns from insurance companies. But Vos now tells Isthmus that new federal guidelines may make the state bill unnecessary.
“It’s our understanding the federal government has put those mandates in place so we are looking into whether or not Wisconsin has to do it,” Vos says in a statement to Isthmus.
Supporters of the bill, such as Dawn Anderson with the Early Detection Saves Lives Coalition, disagree that new guidelines preempt any need for the bill: “[The guidelines] do not address high-risk women. They make that clear.”
The bill, known as Gail’s Law in honor of Neenah resident Gail Zeamer, who died from breast cancer while advocating for its passage, would require insurance companies to cover supplemental diagnostic examinations for women at high risk of developing breast cancer. It had been introduced in the past two legislative sessions but did not advance; the Senate vote in November was the first time it received a floor vote.
Vos is referencing U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) guidelines that took effect in January, which recommend that insurance companies cover supplemental breast cancer screening for average-risk women. The HRSA guidelines specifically address supplemental screenings for average-risk women and do not cover women at high risk.
Insurance companies in Wisconsin are required under state law to cover annual mammograms for women over the age of 50. But mammograms are generally unable to detect breast cancer in the approximately 40% of women who have dense breast tissue. Out-of-pocket costs for additional screening, such as MRIs or ultrasounds, can cost more than $1,500.
Anderson says in an interview that members of the coalition have already certified with the HRSA that “the new guidelines only apply to average risk women” and explicitly exclude high-risk women, including those with dense breast tissue. Anderson also notes that there is no enforcement mechanism for the guidelines.
The coalition sent a memo to all lawmakers in December explaining the difference between the HRSA guidelines and what Gail’s Law would do.
“The HRSA guidelines are pretty clear that they don't address the same population of women that Gail's Law addresses, which are higher-risk women, women at increased risk of breast cancer because of density or genetic predispositions or a very strong family history,” Anderson says. “These [HRSA] guidelines would not have helped Gail.”
Anderson says she hopes Vos’ statement to Isthmus means he “really is looking into it.”
“I hope he is, because he'll find what we've already shared. And if he calls HRSA, he would find the same explanation,” she adds.
Asked whether the guidelines would cover women at high risk for breast cancer, the HRSA, a division of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, responded with a copy of the guidelines but did not answer the question.
Two Republican legislators signed on as co-sponsors of the bill since November. Most Republican co-sponsors of the bill Isthmus contacted have not responded to requests for comment or declined to comment on Vos’ position. Rep. Cindi Duchow, R-Delafield, the lead author of the bill, did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
Rep. Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City, signed on as a cosponsor of the bill on Nov. 25. He tells Isthmus in a statement that his constituents have urged the bill’s passage. “As a husband and a father to four daughters, I rely on constituent feedback to draft legislation and develop policy positions, and [Gail’s Law] is a priority for southwest Wisconsin communities,” Tranel says.
Rep. Brent Jacobson, R-Mosinee, signed on to the legislation on Nov. 24. Jacobson did not respond to a request for comment.
Democrats, meanwhile, have blasted Vos for the lack of movement on the legislation. Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, said in a Nov. 26 social media post that Vos should pass the bill, alongside a bill he’s blocked that would expand postpartum coverage for women on Medicaid, or “resign.”
“For one guy, Robin Vos, to be blocking these bills solely because he is steadfast on not expanding ‘welfare,’ it’s absolutely absurd,” Hong said. “It’s disgusting.”
The bill is opposed by some insurance groups. The Wisconsin Association of Health Plans spent six hours lobbying against it from January to June of this year, arguing that it would increase premiums.
The organization makes contributions to both Democratic and Republican candidates through a political action committee. From 2022-24, that committee donated $2,000 to a political action committee benefitting Vos, according to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
