WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 7, 2023 – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate introduced the Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) for Cancer Act, a bill which would reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) through 2028. For more than 30 years, the NBCCEDP has effectively provided critical breast and cervical cancer screenings, follow-up, diagnosis and treatment to lower income, uninsured and underinsured women.
The following is a statement from ACS CAN President, Lisa A. Lacasse:
“We’re grateful for Senators Tammy Baldwin and Susan Collins as well as Representatives Joseph Morelle and Brian Fitzpatrick for taking a meaningful step today that will lead to more people being screened, more cancers being diagnosed at earlier stages and ultimately better outcomes for people at lower costs for our health care system.
“Early detection can be the difference between life and death in a cancer diagnosis. Ensuring more individuals have access to screening programs such as the NBCCEDP is critical to addressing cancer disparities and reducing the cancer burden for everyone. The SCREENS for Cancer Act can bring us closer to preserving access to NBCCEDP which has been highly impactful and successful in improving cancer screening rates for underserved communities, and by allowing the flexibility needed to build on such good work by aggressively increasing investment in outreach to reach more eligible people who may not otherwise be screened.
“The introduction of the SCREENS for Cancer Act is evident of the effectiveness of NBCCEDP through the decades, and is necessary to ensure continued access to vital breast and cervical cancer screenings for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women to reduce cancer disparities in these populations. We look forward to working with lawmakers to continue the advancement of the Act through Congress.”