I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 716 

To require breast density reporting to physicians and patients by facilities 

that perform mammograms, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2015 

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. ESTY, Mr. 

FARR, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HIMES, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. 

LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. LOWENTHAL, 

Ms. MOORE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. TSONGAS, and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To require breast density reporting to physicians and patients by facilities that perform mammograms, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Breast Density and 

5 Mammography Reporting Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) The National Cancer Institute estimates 

4 that 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop 

5 a cancer of the breast in their lifetime. 

6 (2) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre7 vention reports that breast cancer is the number one 

8 cause of cancer death among Hispanic women, and 

9 the number two cause of cancer death among White, 

10 Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/ 

11 Alaska Native women. 

12 (3) Individuals receiving mammograms are not 

13 currently required to receive medical summaries or 

14 reports from their mammogram providers which ad15 dress breast density or its correlation to masking the 

16 presence of breast cancer on mammograms, despite 

17 the fact that the radiologist interpreting the mam18 mogram makes an assessment of the patient’s breast 

19 density. 

20 SEC. 3. BREAST DENSITY REPORTING BY FACILITIES THAT 

21 PERFORM MAMMOGRAMS TO PHYSICIANS 

22 AND PATIENTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Clause (ii) of section 354(f)(1)(G) 

24 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 263b(f)(1)(G)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in each of subclauses (III) and (IV), by 

2 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(V) the report under subclause (I) 

5 and the summary under subclause (IV) 

6 shall include information about breast den7 sity, as specified by the Secretary based 

8 upon— 

9 ‘‘(aa) current scientific knowl10 edge; 

11 ‘‘(bb) technological advances; or 

12 ‘‘(cc) other updated medical pro13 cedures where the use of such screen14 ing developments is consistent with 

15 the practice of medical experts in the 

16 field; 

17 ‘‘(VI) the summary under subclause 

18 (IV) shall convey the effect of breast den19 sity in masking the presence of breast can20 cer on mammography, using the provider’s 

21 qualitative assessment of the patient’s 

22 breast density; and 

23 ‘‘(VII) the summary under subclause 

24 (IV) shall include language, developed by 

25 the Secretary in consultation with leading 


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1 experts and leading cancer organizations, 

2 communicating that individuals with dense 

3 breasts should talk with their physicians 

4 about— 

5 ‘‘(aa) any questions or concerns 

6 regarding the summary; and 

7 ‘‘(bb) whether the individuals 

8 would benefit from additional tests.’’. 

9 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section and the 

10 amendments made by this section shall not be construed 

11 to alter in any way Federal requirements relating to finan12 cial obligations of any person in connection with health 

13 insurance. 

14 SEC. 4. ENHANCING RESEARCH RELATING TO BREAST DEN15 SITY. 

16 Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended 

17 by inserting after section 354 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 263b) the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 354A. ENHANCING RESEARCH RELATING TO BREAST 

20 DENSITY. 

21 ‘‘The Secretary shall expand and intensify the pro22 grams and activities of the Department of Health and 

23 Human Services for conducting or supporting— 

24 ‘‘(1) applied research on breast density; 


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1 ‘‘(2) research on the cost-effectiveness, effec2 tiveness, and feasibility of reimbursement models for 

3 supplemental imaging relating to breast density; and 

4 ‘‘(3) research in support of clinical guidelines 

5 and best practices concerning use of mammograms 

6 and supplemental screening for women with dense 

7 breasts.’’. 

Æ 


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