Collins’ Bipartisan Bill to Increase Access to Lifesaving Cancer Screenings Clears Committee

Washington, D.C – Today, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted unanimously to advance the Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) for Cancer Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to reauthorize the national Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) through FY2028. This lifesaving program provides breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services for women who are low-income, uninsured, and underinsured who do not qualify for Medicaid.  

“Cancer prevention and screening programs are vital because the earlier this disease is caught, the better the prognosis,” said Senator Collins. “NBCCEDP provides thousands of uninsured and underinsured Mainers with breast and cervical cancer screening, diagnostic, and treatment services each year. Our bipartisan legislation would reauthorize and strengthen this critical program, which has helped nearly 5,000 women in Maine receive a total of 12,148 screening tests over the past five years.”

During the Committee markup, Senator Collins discussed the story of Bethany Zell from Caribou, Maine, who turned to the Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program, which is funded through NBCCEDP, to have the costs of her mammogram covered earlier this year. When Ms. Zell later visited Senator Collins’ office in Washington, she said this early detection program not only helped her get diagnosed, but it also guided her from diagnosis to treatment and every step in between.

A partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health departments, NBCCEDP provides public education, outreach, patient navigation, and care coordination to increase breast and cervical cancer screening rates and reach underserved, vulnerable populations. Without access to early detection programs, many people who are uninsured are forced to delay or forgo screenings, which could lead to late-stage breast cancer diagnoses. This delay can mean that a person may not seek care until the cancer has spread beyond the breast, making it five times more expensive and harder to treat.

This SCREENS for Cancer Act would also increase flexibility to NBCCEDP grantees, allowing for a greater emphasis on implementing innovative evidence-based interventions and aggressive outreach to underserved communities. At current funding levels, NBCCEDP serves fewer than 15 percent of the estimated number of eligible women for breast cancer services.

This legislation is also sponsored by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).

The SCREENS for Cancer Act is endorsed by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Sexual Health Association, Brem Foundation to Defeat Breast Cancer, Check for a Lump, FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Men Supporting Women With Cancer, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, National Women’s Health Network, Prevent Cancer Foundation, Sharsheret, Society of Breast Imaging, Susan G. Komen, The National Consortium of Breast Centers, Tigerlily Foundation, and Young Survival Coalition.

The full text of the SCREENS for Cancer Act can be read here.

###