AUGUSTA — Gov. John Baldacci signed a bill today to require insurance companies to cover colorectal cancer screenings.

The new state law would apply to health insurance policies issued or renewed after Jan. 1, 2009, according to the governor’s press office.

“We know that the five-year survival rate for those who detected their colon cancer early is 90 percent, but only 39 percent of colon cancers are diagnosed at this stage,” Baldacci said in a statement.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Edward Mazurek, D-Rockland.