DeLauro Addresses New Breast Cancer Recommendations

Washington, DC— Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) released the following statement today in response to the recommendations released by the U.S. Preventive Task Force. Republicans have taken the confusion and controversy surrounding the issue as an opportunity to criticize the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Congresswoman DeLauro said:

"If we can cut through the Republicans' political gamesmanship on this issue, the new breast cancer recommendations, as always, were an attempt to put the best possible evidence in the hands of women and their doctors, so they can assess their own risk and benefit.

"I understand that there has been some confusion on this, so let me be clear. The U.S. Preventive Task Force is an independent panel of 16 doctors and scientists not employed by the U.S. government. These individuals do not determine federal policy; they have simply made recommendations. What this panel has recommended was based on the best evidence available at the moment. There is a great need for more information, more research, and more scientific innovation to help women prevent, detect, and fight breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women.

"We have already seen what kinds of plans the GOP comes up with when they put their best minds together. The Republican health care plan does nothing to stop premium discrimination against women, does nothing to end denials based on pre-existing conditions, does nothing to make breast cancer care more affordable, and in fact does not even change the percentage of uninsured Americans."

"To suggest that our bill, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, does anything other than reduce cost, ensure that insurers stop discriminating against women, and improve health insurance system for the 192,000 American women diagnosed with breast cancer each year is absurd. Not only does our bill lower premiums, it stops insurance companies from trying to cut costs at the expense of these women, by banning the misuse of rescissions, and ensures that no woman is denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition, such as breast cancer. Our bill also ensures that more women across the board have access to preventive health and cancer screenings, such as mammograms.

"The real issue is that far too few women in the recommended age groups receive mammograms at all. We need to make sure that women and their doctors have the ability to make the best decisions according to their individual needs and risk factors. Mammography is not perfect, but right now it is the best method we have to detect and treat this disease." As the panel itself has stated, "there is convincing evidence that screening with film mammography reduces breast cancer mortality." It continues to recommend screening mammography for women at higher risk for breast cancer ages 40-49."