Bill > HB42

This bill requires all individual and group health insurance policies in Mississippi, including state employee health plans, to provide coverage for physician-prescribed proton beam therapy for cancer treatment, as recommended by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Specifically, the bill mandates that starting July 1, 2025, any health insurance policy covering radiation oncology must include benefits for proton beam therapy, which is a precise type of radiation treatment that can target cancer cells with minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The legislation applies to various types of health insurance plans, including individual and group policies, service or indemnity contracts, health maintenance organization service contracts, self-insured group arrangements, and managed health care delivery entities. By explicitly adding proton beam therapy to required coverage, the bill aims to ensure that patients have access to this advanced cancer treatment option without facing additional financial barriers, and it specifically includes the State and School Employees Health Insurance Plan in this requirement.

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https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2025/pdf/history/HB/HB0042.xml