DeLauro, Fitzpatrick, and Katie Couric Reintroduce Find It Early Act to Expand Access to Lifesaving Breast Cancer Screening

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), along with award-winning journalist and advocate Katie Couric, reintroduced the Find It Early Act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would ensure all health insurance plans cover screening and diagnostic breast imaging with no cost-sharing. That includes mammograms, ultrasounds and breast ultrasounds, and MRIs. This will remove financial barriers that keep too many women from early detection.

“I am proud to join Katie Couric, Congressman Fitzpatrick, and breast cancer advocates to introduce legislation that will detect breast cancer early and save women’s lives,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “Early detection is key — 99 percent of women who receive an early breast cancer diagnosis survive it. That is why we are reintroducing the Find It Early Act, which would mandate that all insurance programs cover additional screenings to detect breast cancer at no cost to the patient. If we find it early, we save lives.”

“I’ve seen the power of early detection up close—both my mother and my sister are breast cancer survivors. Yet every day, women across this country skip or delay critical imaging because the out-of-pocket costs are simply too high,” said Fitzpatrick. “The Find It Early Act ensures every woman, regardless of risk or income, can access comprehensive breast screening with no cost-sharing. As Co-Chair of the House Cancer Caucus, I will continue leading bipartisan efforts to eliminate these barriers and give every woman the chance early detection is meant to provide.” 

“On June 21, 2022, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I feel incredibly fortunate that I was diagnosed early, but so many women find out too late,” said Katie Couric, Co-founder of Katie Couric Media and Stand Up To Cancer. “Forty-five percent of women who are 40 years old and over have dense breasts, and as a result, mammograms alone can miss tumors or other suspicious tissue in those women.  Improving access and coverage for additional testing–especially for women like me with dense breasts–will save lives. Breast cancer is treatable, and 99 percent of women who are diagnosed early survive. The Find It Early Act is a critical step toward improving access to these lifesaving screenings, and I am incredibly thankful to Congresswoman DeLauro and Congressman Fitzpatrick for joining with me in this effort to save millions of lives.”

“The FDA now requires that patients be notified if they have dense breasts - and instructs them to ask their health provider if more screening tests might be useful,” said JoAnn Pushkin, Executive Director of Dense Breast Info, Inc. “If a provider recommends additional screening for a patient with dense breasts (or because the patient is at increased risk), a patient should be able to access it. Finding cancer early matters, and delays in screening can have devasting consequences. While an early-stage cancer has a 5-year survival rate of 99%, a cancer not detected until later stage, reduces a woman’s 5-year survival rate to about 30%. The Find it Early act will help ensure that when a woman is told she needs more breast imaging, she will not have to struggle to pay for the recommended test, OR choose between household bills and a recommended test, OR skip a recommended test because the cost has strained the family budget. On behalf of all women, we commend sponsors Reps. DeLauro and Fitzpatrick for joining forces, again, to elevate women’s health and survivorship.” 

Despite clear evidence that additional screening is medically necessary for many women – especially those with dense breasts – most insurers still charge out-of-pocket costs that can be far too expensive for women. As a result, many delay or skip additional imaging, leading to later-stage diagnoses and worse outcomes. 

The Find It Early Act would eliminate these financial barriers by requiring coverage of screening and diagnostic mammograms, breast ultrasounds, and MRIs with no cost-sharing.

In September 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally implemented its nationwide breast density notification rule, requiring providers to inform women if they have dense breasts and may need further screening. Representatives DeLauro and Fitzpatrick previously worked together on the Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act, which directed FDA to establish this standard. The policy was enacted as part of the Fiscal Year 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act.