Advocacy Updates for

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

National Level

The end of summer and early fall have been relatively quiet in Congress. The House and Senate have been in session for only about three weeks since August. They are now on recess until after the mid-term elections on November 3rd.

• 🎉Good News! In mid-September, the Senate unanimously passed the EARLY ACT -Young Women’s Breast Health Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act (H.R. 4541/S. 2339). This legislation reauthorizes critical Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) programs focused on breast cancer education, awareness, prevention, and early detection for young women through 2031. The House passed a version of this bill in July. Now, the bill sponsors will work to combine the bills and resolve any differences before it heads to the President for signature.

• The Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act H.R. 2048 continues to gain support (with 271 bipartisan co-sponsors to date) but still remains frustratingly stalled in Congress. While it is unlikely that the bill will get a hearing in committee anytime soon, the bill's chief legislative sponsors are looking for ways to get it passed by the end of the year once Congress is back.For more information about the latest efforts to get this bill across the finish line, see NBCC's website.

VBCF Advocates in Action!

State Level

Advocacy for more funding for Every Woman's Life (EWL)

This fall, VBCF urged the Spanberger Administration to include more state funding for Virginia's free breast and cervical cancer program, Every Woman's Life (EWL), in the Commonwealth's budget. Governor Spanberger will release her proposed budget in December, and it will then be considered by legislators during the 2027 General Assembly session.

VBCF sent letters to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Health to express concern about the potential for many Virginians to lose health insurance coverage due to changes to Medicaid eligibility and the loss of the federal tax credits that helped make ACA marketplace plans more affordable. These challenges will likely increase the number of uninsured women who need a mammogram provided through EWL. At current funding levels, EWL is only able to serve about 35% of potentially eligible women. We urged the state to increase its investment in this critically important program.

ICYMI: New Guidance Clarifies Virginia’s Breast Imaging Law, Including Coverage for Biopsies

New guidance from Virginia’s Bureau of Insurance is helping clarify what the state’s breast imaging law means for patients, including an important point: certain breast biopsies are covered without out-of-pocket costs. Learn what the guidance says, which health plans are affected, and what to do if you receive a bill you believe should be covered.

Looking Ahead:

VBCF will host our State Breast Cancer Advocacy Day during the 2027 Virginia General Assembly. Stay tuned for more details soon!