Welch Fighting to Provide Life-Saving Breast Cancer Screenings to All Women

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – To ensure that all women have access to vital healthcare coverage, state Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, is sponsoring legislation that would require insurance companies to cover breast cancer screenings done with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

“Due to the governor’s refusal to negotiate on a budget, many women across Illinois are not receiving breast-cancer screenings, putting their lives in jeopardy,” said Welch. “ Women’s health care choices should not be used as a political tool for the governor to push his non-budgetary agenda.”

Welch is sponsoring Senate Bill 314, which would require insurance companies to cover an MRI breast exam. Generally, this test is used if cancer is detected or dense breast tissue does not allow traditional tests to identify cancerous cells. Welch’s legislation will make sure that all women have access to affordable breast cancer screenings and ensure that breast cancer is caught early, which ultimately makes it easier to treat and save a woman’s life. Welch’s measure would allow all women to have access to this treatment, including state employees and Medicaid recipients.

“Every woman deserves access to lifesaving healthcare tools like MRI breast exams,” Welch said. “Rising costs and divisive politics should not be getting in the way of women’s health care.”