Lawmakers want to require Tricare to cover 3D mammograms – By Patricia Kime (Military Times) / Nov 21 2019
Female veterans in Congress are pressing the Pentagon to cover a type of mammogram that increasingly is being accepted as the standard of care for early detection of breast cancer.
Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Penn., will introduce bills Thursday in their respective chambers that would require Tricare to cover digital breast tomosynthesis, or DBT, also known as 3D mammography.
Currently, Tricare covers traditional two-dimensional mammography for screening exams. The 3D versions are similar to a CT scan, taking pictures from multiple angles and producing dozens of images to build a three-dimensional perspective.
The lawmakers say the technology is available to patients at the Department of Veterans Affairs as well as Medicare beneficiaries and private practice and should be provided to service women, military family members and retirees.
“This is a pretty darn big gap in coverage that we need make sure we are filling,” Houlahan told Military Times.
Use of 3D mammograms has increased from 13 percent of screening examinations in 2015 to 43 percent in 2017. Still, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and American Cancer Society have said there isn’t enough evidence to advise women on the benefits of 3D mammograms over traditional screening technology.
A study is underway at the National Cancer Institute to try to answer the question as to whether they are more effective, but Houlahan said 3D mammograms can help detect cancers in women with dense breast tissue, about 40 percent of the female population.
Dense breast tissue, made up of supportive tissue and compact milk glands and milk ducts, can make finding anomalies and tumors more difficult on a 2D scan. “This is not a niche issue … This is the only technology that identifies issues in those with dense breast tissue. People should be able to use the technology that is the most appropriate for them,” Houlahan said.
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Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, pictured, D-Penn., and Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., have introduced bills that would require Tricare to cover 3D mammograms.
