Co-Payment Cap On MRIs, CAT Scans Passed To State Senate

HARTFORD — (AP) The Connecticut House of Representatives voted 140-0 Monday in favor of a bill that would cap insurance co-payments for medical imaging tests such as MRIs, CAT scans, and similar procedures.

The bill now goes to the Senate. It would cap individual co-payments for MRIs at $75 and impose an annual cap of $375.

The caps are slightly higher — $100 per procedure and a total annual limit of $400 — for PET scans, a different type of imaging often used to detect cancer.

It was proposed by lawmakers and backed by radiologists concerned that patients are not getting necessary tests because they cannot afford them.

“We realize these procedures are very expensive, but sometimes they’re very necessary,” said Rep Brian O’Connor, D-Clinton, co-chairman of the Insurance Committee.

At a public hearing in March, Susan Frederick of Meriden told legislators that her mother, Joan Frederick, had a double heart bypass and was then diagnosed with cancer. Her doctors recommend tests and she chooses based on which she can afford.

A spokeswoman for the Connecticut Insurance Department said a 2002 directive allowed managed care plans to start charging co-payments up to $200 for imaging.