Press Releases

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), a breast cancer survivor, released the following statement today on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s draft recommendations on breast cancer screening:

Yesterday, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released draft recommendations for public comment that throw into doubt whether insurance companies must cover routine mammograms for women between the ages of 40 and 50. This is a dangerous step in the wrong direction.

Women with significant genetic risk factors for breast cancer should not have to worry about whether their insurance will cover preventative screenings, which can catch cancers earlier and potentially save their lives. As a young breast cancer survivor who was unaware of my own increased risk before my diagnosis at 41, I strongly believe we need more, not less, preventive services available to patients who need them.

The reality is that breast cancer has disproportionate impacts on African American women, Ashkenazi Jewish women, and women with higher genetic risks of breast cancer due to family history. These draft recommendations try to impose a “one-size-fits-all” approach for a complex disease that affects women of all ages in very different ways. In addition, while most women respond better to traditional mammograms, other preventative techniques, like 3D mammography, have proven to be more effective at fighting aggressive, early on-set breast cancer that disproportionately affects women of color. These draft recommendations throw coverage of those technologies into doubt.

In 2011, there were 283,000 diagnosed cases of breast cancer in the United States. According to the National Cancer Institute’s latest research, the number of cases will skyrocket over the next two decades, to 441,000 cases by 2030. Thousands of these new cases will be younger women. These numbers are cause for alarm – and continued action. I strongly oppose these new draft recommendations, and will work with the Obama Administration, Members of Congress, and concerned groups to ensure that younger women and women at higher risk have access to affordable health care to assist them in this fight. I will take appropriate action to ensure that these misguided draft recommendations do not harm women whose lives might be saved through the preventative screenings these recommendations would make less likely.

Contact:

Sean Bartlett, Sean.Bartlett@mail.house.gov

Geoff Burgan, Geoff.Burgan@mail.house.gov

###