Paxman Announces Passage of New York Law Requiring Insurance Coverage of Scalp Cooling Devices to Help Prevent Hair Loss During Cancer Treatment
Paxman announces that the state of New York bill (A38-A/S2063-A), requiring insurance coverage of scalp cooling systems to prevent hair loss during cancer treatment, was signed into law by the New York State Governor Kathy Hochul on 13th December 2024. This bill is an acknowledgement of the importance of scalp cooling to help reduce and manage chemotherapy-induced alopecia. In addition, this new legislation will further highlight and narrow the disparities in access to a treatment combatting one of the most difficult and demoralizing side effects of cancer treatment.
This legislation was sponsored by New York Assembly member Linda B. Rosenthal and State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky and passed both houses of the Legislature unanimously before it was signed by the Governor. The legislation will require, beginning January 1, 2026, private health insurance plans in New York that are governed by New York law to provide coverage for scalp cooling systems that are used to prevent or reduce hair loss during cancer chemotherapy treatment, such as the Paxman Scalp Cooling System.
Richard Paxman, CEO remarks “This is a very encouraging development and a great way to end the year. We are seeing a lot of positive momentum around coding and coverage for scalp cooling, with the recent Palmetto LCD being implemented in November 2023 and some commercial payers beginning to reimburse scalp cooling claims. This new bill is firstly, extremely positive news for our strong customer base and patients within New York area, but also an important step to ensure all applicable patients have access to scalp cooling, regardless of their financial means.”
This exciting New York State news also comes just a few months after Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Congresswoman from Connecticut’s Third Congressional District, introduced a federal bill (H. R. 8128) to require health insurance coverage for scalp cooling items, another progressive legislative development. In addition, the American Medical Association announcement in October 2024 that 3 CPT® Category I codes for mechanical scalp cooling, also effective from January 1, 2026, sends a strong message to payers, both commercial and Medicare and Medicaid, that there is now a path to consistent and predictable reimbursement and payment for scalp cooling for providers in the community and academic setting.
Current FDA-cleared machine-based cooling systems, like the Paxman Scalp Cooling System, are used in cancer treatment centers at over 850 locations in the United States, including 43 NCCN and NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, including several of the prominent cancer centers in the state of New York. Scalp cooling is also found in the NCCN Guidelines and Compendium as a Category 2A treatment option.
If you would like to find out more about Paxman’s Scalp Cooling System: www.paxmanscalpcooling.com