Today, the Senate approved an amendment to the health care legislation would give access to lifesaving cancer screening for women requiring all health plans to cover mammography screenings with no deductibles or co-payments. Offered by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), this measure was one of two mammogram amendments that the Senate voted on today. The second amendment, which was offered by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and would not ensure no-cost preventive services for women, was denied. This news signals forward motion for the ongoing health care debate and comes just one day after the American Cancer SocietyÈs chief medical officer Otis Brawley, M.D., testified before House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee. The hearing focused on a set of new recommendations on early detection of breast cancer issued last month by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advising that routine mammograms were not required for women under the age of 50. ACS CAN strongly supports improving the process for determining recommendations for preventive services by making the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force more transparent and accountable to the public, and by giving the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to consider evidence-based guidelines developed by other groups as the basis for coverage of preventive services. The American Cancer Society continues to recommend annual screening using mammography and clinical breast examination for all women beginning at age 40, a practice that saves lives.
After months of delay and hard negotiations, Congress has finally passed a funding bill! The bill includes a small increase for cancer research and prevention programs.