The Oklahoma House has overwhelmingly approved legislation that prohibits health insurers from holding proton radiation cancer therapy to a higher standard of clinical effectiveness than other radiation therapies.
House members voted 97-0 for the bill Wednesday and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
The measure's author, Republican Rep. Marion Cooksey of Edmond, says proton therapy has proven to be an effective treatment for certain kinds of cancer. But Cooksey says it's more expensive than traditional radiation treatments and many cancer patients are being denied proton therapy by their health insurers.
The measure would maintain proton therapy as an option physicians can choose for their patients.
Cancer survivors who have had proton therapy treatment watched from the House gallery as lawmakers approved the bill.
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