Gail Zeamer's sister and daughter testify in support of Gail's Law in front of the Assembly Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care. (Courtesy: WisEye)
(WTAQ-WLUK) — A Neenah woman is continuing to inspire change nearly two years after she died.
Gail’s Law, which would eliminate out-of-pocket expenses for supplemental screenings for women with dense breast tissue, has already passed the Wisconsin state Senate. But bill 25AB263 is still awaiting a vote on the Assembly floor.
“Having that near-unanimous vote at the Senate and being able to witness it, I was a mess. I was in tears, you know? Seeing that there’s such wholehearted bipartisan support on this bill has been really great and has given our family a lot of hope,” said Sophie Zeamer.
She is the daughter of the late Gail Zeamer, a Neenah wife and mother who died in 2024 and is the namesake behind Gail’s Law.
Inspired by her own breast cancer diagnosis, Gail first worked to pass the Breast Density Notification Act, requiring doctors to notify women if they have dense breast tissue. Gail’s Law goes a step further by making insurance companies obligated to cover annual supplemental screenings for women with dense breast tissue.
As Gail learned firsthand, dense breast tissue makes tumors harder to detect. Additional screening, like an ultrasound, is needed in order to find cancer.
According to Sophie, “The additional screening that she needed to find her cancer, she paid for out-of-pocket because insurance did not cover it.”
Some women forgo further testing because of the expense.
“We’re in this to save lives, you know? That is essentially what this bill will do in the long run,” added Sophie.
Three dozen other states already have laws on the books requiring supplemental screenings be covered by insurance.
While Gail’s Law passed the Wisconsin Senate almost unanimously and was recommended by the Assembly Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care, it hasn’t been scheduled for a full Assembly vote.
State Rep. Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay, sits on the committee that recommended the bill.
Kitchens said, “There’s strong support for it, and there are many stories of women that [their cancer] could have been caught earlier and maybe saved their lives, had they done so. So, I think it is important legislation and I hope we can get it done.”
With the Assembly session set to end this week, Sophie and others are pushing for the vote to happen.
“I don’t want to see this bill die. I think it’s so incredibly important for the future of Wisconsinites,” she said.
While the bill was not on the agenda for Tuesday’s Assembly session, Kitchens says it could be placed on the agenda for Thursday.
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