TOWSON — A new state law took effect at the start of the year is requiring insurance companies to cover biomarker testing.
Biomarker testing gives doctors better insight on a number of medical conditions, including cancer and how to improve a patient's chances of survival.
Hilary Akinbiyi was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 30.
She is now 35-years-old.
Akibiyi says biomarker testing played a key role in helping doctors come up with her treatment plan.
Biomarker testing is a way to look for genes, proteins and other substances.
As part of Akinbiyi's care, she had the testing done.
Through the testing, it was determined she did not need to do chemotherapy.
She believes if she did not have the testing, she may have had to pay for chemotherapy, which could have cost her more money in the long run.
Before the new law went into place, some insurance companies did not cover biomarker testing.
This left many people having to pay hundreds to even thousands of dollars out of pocket.
"And the last thing we want is for people to make decisions to get just based on insurance coverage, or their lack of. We want people to be making decisions with their doctor based on what information they need and what makes sense for them. And not to be held back by what the insurance company covers or does not cover," said Akinbiyi.
Akinbiyi says after fiver years of hormonal therapy, she completed the treatment last year.
Medicaid will start covering biomarker testing July of next year.
Officials with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network consider this a major win.
They believe it will open the door to targeted treatments that can lead to an improved quality of life.