A cancer diagnosis, in any form, profoundly impacts the lives of those facing the disease. Beyond the physical tolls of treatment, the mental and emotional side effects can be equally severe. One of the most significant challenges is the hair loss caused by chemotherapy, which can deeply affect a patient’s self-esteem and mental health. As a result, in a revolutionary move, New York State just became the first in the country to mandate insurance coverage for hair-preservation treatments for cancer patients. Ahead, find out everything you need to know about the life-changing bill.
New York State Enacts Bill for Insurance Coverage of Hair-Preservation Technologies During Chemotherapy
On Friday, December 13, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a life-changing bill for cancer patients that requires large, private health insurance plan providers in the state of New York to cover the cost of scalp-cooling treatments for chemotherapy patients. Co-sponsored by Senator Toby Ann Stavisky and Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal, the bill is a groundbreaking one, establishing New York as the first state in the country to take an important step towards improving the livelihood of cancer patients.
Scalp-cooling treatments—also known as cold capping—have long been known to significantly reduce the extent of hair loss in patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments, with Senator Stavisky noting in a statement on the bill that the treatments work in 85 percent of cancer patients. “This legislation is important to those undergoing chemotherapy treatments,” Stavisky said. “An individual will be viewed not as a sick person but as a person.” Assembly Member Rosenthal echoes the importance, stating in her own statement that “Undergoing chemotherapy is one of the most emotionally and physically distressing medical experiences that one can endure. Women receiving this treatment say that losing their hair adds extra trauma to their cancer diagnosis, altering their identity and self-esteem, serving as a constant reminder of their disease and signaling to others that they are ill.”
