On Tuesday, Brittany McArthur snapped a picture in a hospital gown, still smiling despite the fact she was about to undergo a double mastectomy.
In January, at just 30 years old, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"It's not something I ever imagined to be facing this early in life," McArthur said, turning 31 in March.
But unfortunately, being diagnosed at such a young age wasn't the only devastating surprise. It was when she got her bill and saw her mammogram and emergency biopsy the next day was not covered.
"It was $633 for my first mammogram," she said. "I was told because I'm younger than 35, none of that will be covered."
Federal Law through the Affordable Care Act requires all mammograms to be covered for women under 40. It looks like in last year's November Special Session, Florida lawmakers passeda similar bill for women 35 and older. There is also a map broken down by state that shows what is or isn't covered by insurance when it comes to Breast Cancer screenings.
"It's sad when you say it out loud because it doesn't sound believable," McArthur added.
State Representative Dianne "Miss Dee" Hart, (D) Tampa, filed legislation that would have helped women like McArthur.
"That's heart-wrenching, I feel for her," Rep. Hart said. "That was the rhyme and reason on why I wanted to pass a piece of legislation of lowering that age."
House Bill 711 would have required coverage for mammograms if referred to by a doctor and/or if the woman has a family history of breast cancer, regardless of age.
"She's not alone," Rep. Hart added. "But insurance doesn't want to pay for that."
Hart provided data that shows more women are getting diagnosed at an earlier age. She shared with her from the Moffitt Cancer Center that shows from 2022 to 2023, there were 353 more cases of women under the age of 30 being treated for breast cancer in the Bay Area. A Yale Medicine report also says Breast Cancer is the most common cancer among women ages 15 to 39.
"There's a real need," Rep. Hart said. "So for me to be able to pass this legislation would have been just life-altering for so many women."
However, Hart's bill did not advance as another bill to expandmammogram and diagnostic coverage was making headway instead. But that bill also died in this past legislative session.
"We are going back to Tallahassee. I will work all summer and work with senators to see if we can cement some commitment to the bill," Hart said about bringing the bill back next legislative session. "We are going to fight as hard as we can when we go back."
Not only was McArthur's mammogram not covered, but neither was any of her additional diagnostic screenings, including ultrasounds and her emergency biopsy, bringing her thousands of dollars into debt.
"I still owe just from the day I had my biopsy, $3,041," she said.
She said to have her double mastectomy covered, she had to change her insurance plan, now paying $1,031 a month instead of the $394 she was paying before she was diagnosed.
She has created a GoFundMe page along with her friends, hosting several fundraisers in her fight.
ABC Action News reached out to the Moffitt Cancer Center for resources for mammograms and financial assistance. Click here for more information.
