Governor John Kasich has signed Ohio’s breast density inform bill into law (HB 394, Section 3702.40). Ohio joins 19 other states to become the 20th in the nation to enact and raises to over 60% the number of American women living in states with some level of mandatory breast density notification.
The law, which becomes effective in March 2015, requires that a mammography facility send a summary of the mammography report to each patient containing the results of the patient’s mammogram, and, if the patient has dense breast tissue, requires the report to include the following statement:
“Your mammogram demonstrates that you have dense breast tissue, which could hide abnormalities. Dense breast tissue, in and of itself, is a relatively common condition. Therefore, this information is not provided to cause undue concern; rather, it is to raise your awareness and promote discussion with your health care provider regarding the presence of dense breast tissue in addition to other risk factors.”
Michigan may soon follow suit; that state’s density inform bill (SB 0879) passed both legislative houses and is headed to Gov. Synder’s desk.
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