Hassan, Grassley Take Action to Improve Access to Cancer Screenings

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Standardizing Cancer Recommendations for Earlier Evaluation and Navigation of Screenings (SCREENS) Act to make cancer screening recommendations more accessible, transparent, and user friendly for patients and health care providers. “Cancer screenings can identify cancers during the early stages when they are easiest to treat, but patients often do not know when they are due for potentially life-saving screenings,” said Senator Hassan. “This bipartisan bill will help make sure that patients and doctors are informed about federal cancer screening recommendations so that they can catch cancer earlier and get people the treatment that they need. I’m glad to introduce this bill, and I will continue working across the aisle to strengthen preventative care for Granite Staters.” “Detecting cancer early can save lives. I know that based on the personal experience of my wife, Barbara, a nearly 40-year breast cancer survivor. Unfortunately, patients and providers are navigating a complex and confusing maze just to keep up with cancer screening recommendations. By making these recommendations more accessible through technology, our SCREENS Act would strengthen cancer care and help save lives. For my home state, this bill would proactively support Iowans by helping providers identify patients who could be overdue for a screening,” said Senator Grassley. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States. Cancer screenings can increase the chance of earlier treatment and reduce mortality, but screening recommendations are often complex, fragmented and difficult to interpret and navigate. The bipartisan SCREENS Act would simplify and improve the process by establishing a national data and technology framework for cancer screening recommendations, to make these recommendations more accessible, interoperable and effective for providers and patients. In 2022, the Presidential Cancer Panel recommended the federal government develop a digitally accessible version of the cancer screening and risk assessment guidelines. The SCREENS Act would enact this recommendation. Under the legislation, the national data and technology framework would be publicly available in machine-readable format for use by health information technologies, interoperability tools and patient-facing applications. The legislation would also help providers identify which patients are at risk and overdue for screenings. Click here for a section-by-section of the bill. Click here to see text of the bill. The SCREENS Act builds on Senator Hassan’s record of expanding access to preventive care and cancer screenings. She has repeatedly fought to protect Title X funding that helps patients access cancer screenings and other preventive care. In 2022, Senator Hassan helped pass into law the bipartisan SERVICE Act to expand access to mammograms for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. ###