Mikulski, Ayotte Continue Fight to Protect Access to Mammograms for Women 40 and Older

Press Release

U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) today continued their ongoing fight to protect free annual mammogram screenings for women under 50 after the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force (USPSTF) issued final recommendations that would strip away this free preventive health coverage for women age 40 to 49. The Senators have together introduced the bipartisan Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings (PALS) Act, which protects free mammograms for women under 50. Senator Mikulski, in her role as Vice Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Senator Ayotte together fought to include key tenants of their PALS Act protecting free mammograms for women 40-49 in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 which was signed into law by President Obama.

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"In light of ongoing concerns that the USPSTF's final recommendations will threaten access to mammograms for millions of women, I worked with Senator Mikulski to include legislation in the government funding bill that delays these recommendations for two years, preserving access to breast cancer screenings that can catch cancer early, at its most treatable stage," Senator Ayotte said. "We need to ensure that women have the best information available to make well-informed health care decisions, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to bring greater transparency to the USPSTF and ensure that women continue to have access to lifesaving mammograms."

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