January 8, 2016 — The Vermont state Senate introduced a bill this week that would mandate healthcare facilities to share breast density information with patients following a mammogram. The resolution was introduced on the Senate floor Jan. 5 by Sen. Joe Benning (R-Caledonia) and referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.
The resolution as introduced includes two provisions related to breast density. First, healthcare facilities that perform mammograms would be required to inform all patients who receive mammograms of their breast density classifications; classification would be based on the American College of Radiology’s Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS). At the same time patients, with dense fibroglandular tissue must be notified that they may benefit from additional screening, as dense tissue and cancerous tissue both appear white on a mammogram, making detection more difficult.
If passed, the law would come into effect on July 1, 2016. That would make Vermont the 25th state to enact such a regulation. Louisiana was the last state to enact a breast density inform law, which was signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal last July and became effective Jan. 1 of this year.
For more information: www.densebreast-info.org
