Veterans would benefit from a new bipartisan push in Congress to expand life‑saving breast cancer screenings for the rapidly growing population of women who have served.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) via email for comment outside of regular working hours.
Why It Matters
Women, the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population, now make up more than 2.1 million U.S. veterans, a figure projected to rise sharply in the coming decades, according to VA.
The share of women veterans is expected to represent 18 percent of all U.S. veterans by 2040, up from just 4 percent in 2000.
Lawmakers say expanding VA mammography access will improve early detection and outcomes, particularly for veterans living far from full-service VA facilities in rural areas, according to statements from the bill’s sponsors.
What To Know
Republican Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson of Pennsylvania, Democratic Representative Rick Larsen of Washington, Republican Representative Jen Kiggans of Virginia, and Democratic Representative Maxine Dexter of Oregon have introduced the Mammography Access for Veterans Act, a bill designed to expand access to breast cancer screenings through VA.
Their proposal would permanently authorize telehealth and telescreening mammography in every state, ensuring that veterans living in rural or underserved areas—where full‑service VA mammography facilities are limited—can still access early‑detection services.
H.R. 7411 was introduced in the House on February 5, 2026, by Thompson and co-led by Larsen, Kiggans, and Dexter, and was referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs the same day, according to the bill’s Congress.gov docket.
It seeks to close care gaps by ensuring every state offers either telescreening, full-service, or mobile mammography through VA, building on a pilot launched under the 2022 MAMMO Act (Making Advances in Mammography and Medical Options).
“Our veterans deserve access to the health care they need, particularly women who have served honorably,” Thompson said, emphasizing the lifesaving potential of earlier intervention.
The sponsors said the MAMMO Act pilot program delivered more than 7,000 screenings as of June 2025, demonstrating demand and feasibility for wider expansion across the VA network, according to their press materials and Senate veterans’ committee leaders.
A Senate companion was introduced in December by Senators Richard Blumenthal, Jerry Moran, Mazie Hirono, and John Boozman, reflecting bicameral support for making the telescreening program permanent and ensuring mammography access in every state, according to their offices.
The 2022 MAMMO Act required VA to modernize breast imaging, launch a telemammography pilot for areas without in-house service, and expand access through partnerships, laying the groundwork for the current effort to scale telescreening nationally.
For veterans in rural areas—where health care shortages are common—the bill’s telemammography provision could be transformative.
Kiggans said the legislation ensures that “veterans, especially those in rural or underserved communities, receive the screenings they need.”
Dexter, a former VA critical‑care physician, added that “early detection saves lives,” and no veteran should worry about accessing preventive care.
The legislation arrives as the VA is already rolling out sweeping updates to women’s health services. Women veterans enrolled in VA care can now directly schedule appointments with VA gynecology specialists, eliminating the long‑standing requirement for a primary‑care referral.
This change affects more than one million women currently enrolled in the VA system.
There has been a broader VA effort to streamline access to care, reduce administrative hurdles, and modernize medical services for a diversifying veteran population.
Recent initiatives include new clinic openings, reductions in backlogs, and major investments in the Million Veteran Program, where over 100,000 women veterans now participate in research on breast cancer, heart disease, osteoarthritis, endometriosis and more.
What People Are Saying
Thompson said: “Early detection of breast cancer leads to better health outcomes and this legislation will save lives, especially of those veteran women living in rural areas, where access to mammography can often be limited.”
Larsen said: “Women are the fastest growing group in the veteran population. As the number of women veterans rapidly increases, VA must continue to modernize its women’s health care services.”
Dexter said: “As a pulmonary and critical care physician who served at the VA, I know early detection saves lives.”
Blumenthal said: “Fighting breast cancer requires early detection. It is imperative we expand VA’s capacity to conduct mammograms and ensure veterans have access to these critical screenings no matter where they live.”
What Happens Next
The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee will consider H.R. 7411 following its referral, and supporters expect the Senate companion to advance in parallel as lawmakers seek to make VA telescreening mammography a permanent nationwide option.
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