Republicans oppose minimum coverage for breast cancer screenings

October 26, 2009: Las Vegas, NV –While Nevada Democrats, led by Sen. Harry Reid, work to improve the health care system by covering lifesaving, cost saving preventive care for all Americans, Nevada Republicans have a history of supporting a free pass for the insurance industry that would allow it to avoid paying for breast cancer screenings.

Cancer screenings are an important part not only of saving lives, but also of eliminating more serious, costly procedures by catching cancer early.

And while Sen. Reid wants to make insurance less expensive by eliminating waste and streamlining the system, Republicans want to allow insurance companies to strip coverage down to the bare minimum – eliminating payments for these important screenings – to save costs.

Sue Lowden, Danny Tarkanian and Sharron Angle all oppose minimum coverage standards, which require insurance companies to cover crucial screenings and treatments for all Nevada customers.

Nevadans can “no longer afford” insurance policies that cover breast cancer screenings, argued Lowden. She went on to say pap smears, prenatal care and prostate cancer screening should also be optional, not required.

And Angle said she favors “basic” insurance policies that don’t cover things like cancer screenings, comparing women’s health to car maintenance. “We need just a regular insurance policy kind of like what we have on our cars, you know, just the basics, and then if you need to add things to it because of your condition, then that’s your choice,” Angle said.

“These Republicans are putting insurance company profits ahead of Nevadans’ health,” said Phoebe Sweet, communications director for the Nevada State Democratic Party. “But these policies are short-sighted not only because they wind up costing consumers more when they’re paying for costly care down the road. But they also cost lives. I wonder if these Republicans would support putting profits first if it was the lives of their mothers, daughters or sisters at stake."