For more information about insurance coverage of clinical trial costs, see this feature's main page: States That Require Health Plans to Cover Patient Care Costs in Clinical Trials 1. Legislation: Senate Bill 181 2 Effective: July 2001 What clinical trials are covered? Clinical trials for treatment, palliation (supportive care), or prevention of cancer approved by one of the following: National Institutes of Health (NIH) NIH cooperative group or center U.S. Department of Defense U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Institutional Review Board that has a Multiple Project Assurance (MPA) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Human Research Protections. A qualified research entity that meets the criteria for NIH Center Support grant eligibility. Who is required to pay? Every group or blanket policy. Other key provisions: The trial must have therapeutic intent and enroll individuals diagnosed with the disease. The trial must not be designed exclusively to test toxicity or disease pathophysiology (the functional changes that accompany a particular syndrome or disease).