(AP) – A group of Missouri lawmakers joined health care advocates to outline a plan aimed at reducing the cost of pill-form chemotherapy.

The proposed legislation would require insurance companies to levy the same out-of-pocket costs for oral chemotherapy as they do for the traditional intravenous treatment.

The American Cancer Society said Wednesday that insurance companies can charge higher co-payments and deductibles for chemotherapy pills.

The proposed measure would impact only health plans that provide coverage for both types of treatments.

Rep. Sheila Solon, a Republican from Blue Springs, says the legislation would not increase premiums for cancer patients.

Twenty-seven other states and the District of Columbia have passed similar measures seeking to reduce the cost of the chemotherapy pills.