Her Breast MRI Was Approved, But That Didn’t Mean Her Insurance Would Pay

Last year, Stephanie Halver’s primary care doctor consulted a risk assessment tool to calculate her chances of one day developing breast cancer. Halver, now 43, remembered the likelihood “popped up really high.” That’s partly because Halver’s mother and aunt have had breast cancer. Her age and dense breast tissue also put her at higher risk. Halver, who lives in Vancouver, Washington, said her doctor recommended she get an annual breast MRI, six months after her yearly mammogram. The scan would serve as an additional safeguard, since breast MRIs can detect abnormalities that mammograms miss. Case in point, actress Olivia Munn had a breast MRI in 2023 that detected an aggressive form of cancer in both breasts, even though a recent mammogram had been clear, she told People magazine. Like Halver, Munn said her doctor recommended the MRI after a risk assessment score showed she faced a greater-than-normal chance of developing breast cancer. Catching breast cancer early, before it spreads, improves survival rates, according to the National Cancer Institute. After Halver’s insurer preapproved the scan, she scheduled the MRI for September. “Luckily, they find nothing,” Halver recalled. Th...