Bill would support grants and training for women's cancer screening

The Health and Human Services Secretary could award grants or contracts to public or nonprofit groups for preventive health services. Services may include cancer screening, HPV tests and vaccines, and diagnostic tests for women with cancer symptoms. The Secretary shall seek to increase access, particularly for women of color. The Secretary is authorized, but not required, to make awards. Congress is authorized to provide $20 million for each fiscal year from 2027 through 2029; the text does not guarantee that funding. The authorized funding covers fiscal years 2027 through 2029.

The Secretary would establish a program offering three-year grants to train health care providers in breast and gynecologic cancer screening and follow-up care. The program would focus on training providers to serve rural and underserved communities, low-income communities, and communities of color. Eligible groups include certain family planning providers, Medicaid service providers, and groups already offering screening through a federal early detection program. Training would cover current screening guidance, care after abnormal results, and communication that addresses bias and respects patients’ backgrounds. Each grant would last three years; the text gives no start date.

The Secretary would study access to women’s cancer screening and report findings to Congress. The study would also examine screening access for groups less likely to receive care and consider ways to improve access. The study would examine cancer rates and screening across the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, including differences by location, income, employment, race, ethnicity, and insurance coverage. The first report would be due within two years after enactment, with another every five years after that. The Secretary would update the study periodically.

The Secretary would run a two-year project to test ways to increase cervical screening that combines HPV testing with Pap tests. The project would focus on women with higher cervical cancer rates, including Black, Hispanic and Latina, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women. Eligible groups are those covered by the training grant rules. Awards could support testing access, culturally and linguistically appropriate services such as interpreters, or other services to improve health outcomes. The Secretary would give priority to groups serving low-income, uninsured, or medically underserved people, or people with historically low rates of combined testing. The project would last two years; the text gives no start date.