Gov. Carney signs HB 120 at Graham Cancer Center

Delaware Gov. John Carney signed House Bill 120 Sept. 21 at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. This bill requires health insurance policies to cover any medically appropriate drug approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for the treatment of Stage 4 metastatic cancer without requiring a patient to first prove that the patient failed to respond to a different drug or drugs. Joining Gov. Carney were House of Representatives Majority Leader Rep. Valerie Longhurst and Sen. David McBride — the primary sponsors of the bill — as well as several other government leaders, including Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall Long, Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro, Speaker of the House Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, Rep. Joseph Miro, Rep. Mike Ramone and Rep. David Bentz.

“We are grateful to Gov. John Carney, to Rep. Valerie Longhurst, Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf, and to Sen. David McBride and the many other lawmakers who have passed this important piece of legislation,” said Nicholas Petrelli, M.D., Bank of America endowed medical director of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute. “A culture of innovation guides the care that we provide at our cancer center, and this law helps ensure that our patients will have access to the innovative treatments that can help them achieve optimal health.”