Governor Tony Evers signed “Gail’s Law,” Senate Bill 264, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 103, into law on Thursday.
The law requires health insurance policies, including BadgerCare, to fully cover medically necessary supplemental breast screenings or diagnostic breast examinations for those with dense breasts or who are at an increased risk of breast cancer.
Evers signed the bill in honor of Gail Zeamer, a Wisconsinite who died in 2024 after a late-stage diagnosis caused by undetected cancer in dense breast tissue.
“Gail Zeamer was a wife, a mother and a fierce advocate, and hers is a story shared by countless women across this state each and every day. Unfortunately, the system failed her. But, today, thanks to Gail and her family and their relentless efforts, we’re working to fix the system to save lives and make sure Wisconsin women don’t have to go through the same thing she did,” Evers said in a statement.
In Wisconsin, it is estimated that over 6,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2026. Additionally, according to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, nearly half of women over 40 have dense breasts, and women with dense breasts are also at a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Further, according to Mayo Clinic, both breast cancer and dense breast tissue appear similarly on mammogram imaging, making it harder to detect breast cancer.
