Murkowski cosponsors Senate bill to pay providers for breast cancer risk assessments

Providers would be reimbursed for giving patients a comprehensive breast cancer risk assessment and building a personalized screening and risk-reduction plan under a bill introduced Wednesday in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is a cosponsor. The available record describes the payment model but not the full text of the measure.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana sponsored the bill, S. 5258, which would amend title XI of the Social Security Act to create the payment model. The bill was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

For patients in rural Alaska, including Alaska Native and Indigenous women, specialty imaging often means traveling long distances. Added cost-sharing can weigh more heavily on those who need assessment beyond a routine mammogram. Advocacy groups including Susan G. Komen have argued that out-of-pocket costs for medically necessary diagnostic and supplemental breast imaging, such as MRIs and ultrasounds, can delay detection and treatment.

Two other pending federal proposals target imaging costs directly. The Access to Breast Cancer Diagnosis Act of 2025 would bar cost-sharing for diagnostic and supplemental breast exams. The House's Find It Early Act would require coverage without cost-sharing for mammograms, ultrasound, MRI and other imaging for people at increased risk. Each bill's own eligibility language determines its reach. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, separately, recommends biennial screening mammography for women ages 40 to 74. The task force says evidence remains inadequate on supplemental ultrasound or MRI screening for women at average risk.