Title: Invest in Women's Health Act of 2017
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Invest in Women's Health Act of 2017
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide support to public or nonprofit entities to expand certain preventive health services, with an emphasis on increasing access to cancer screening, particularly for women of color.
The bill reauthorizes through FY2020: (1) programs related to breast and gynecologic cancers under Medicaid and family planning programs, and (2) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.
HHS must establish a demonstration grant program to train health care providers regarding breast and gynecologic cancer screening.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 689 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 689

 To provide women with increased access to preventive and life-saving 
                           cancer screening.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 21, 2017

Mrs. Murray (for herself, Mrs. Gillibrand, and Ms. Baldwin) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
               on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide women with increased access to preventive and life-saving 
                           cancer screening.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Invest in Women's Health Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to provide women with increased 
access to preventive and life-saving cancer screening, including 
clinical breast exams and cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and 
vulvar cancer screening, provided by leading women's health care 
providers who--
            (1) serve populations most at risk; and
            (2) play an outsized role in the prevention and detection 
        of cancer in order to serve the goal of reducing health care 
        disparities among low-income women and women of color, decrease 
        health care spending, and expand health literacy, access, and 
        education about the benefits of regular preventive cancer 
        screening for women.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in 
        women under the age of 54, and the American Cancer Society 
        recommends that women in their 20s and 30s have a clinical 
        breast exam at least every 3 years.
            (2) Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer 
        of the female reproductive system, but it accounts for only 
        about 3 percent of all cancers in women.
            (3) The cancers that most frequently impact women include 
        breast, uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancer, and there were 
        314,257 new cases of these cancers in 2013.
            (4) Rates of incidence and death for gynecologic cancers by 
        race and ethnicity show that, while for some cancers, like 
        ovarian cancer, the rates of incidence and death are similar 
        among all races, for other cancers, like cervical cancer, women 
        of color have a disproportionate rate of incidence. While the 
        incidence of uterine cancer is higher for White women than for 
        women of color, rates of death for uterine cancer are 2 times 
        higher for Black women than for White women.
            (5) Prevention and cancer screening are the best approaches 
        to protecting women from cancer and ensuring early detection 
        and life-saving treatment. Many deaths from breast and cervical 
        cancers could be avoided if cancer screening rates increased 
        among women at risk. Deaths from these cancers occur 
        disproportionately among women who are uninsured or 
        underinsured.
            (6) Due to enhanced screening, cervical cancer, which used 
        to be the leading cause of cancer death for women in the United 
        States, is now a much more preventable and treatable cancer.
            (7) Increased access to education, information, and 
        preventive cancer screening increase women's ability to survive 
        cancer.
            (8) Women's health care providers that are primarily 
        engaged in family planning services, such as Planned Parenthood 
        health centers, provide necessary screening tests, education, 
        and information to women, especially women of color who face 
        the highest risks of breast cancer and other gynecologic 
        cancers.

SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING ACCESS TO CANCER SCREENING FOR WOMEN.

    (a) In General.--Part B of title III of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 317P 
the following:

``SEC. 317P-1. GRANTS FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to make grants and 
to enter into contracts with public or nonprofit private entities to 
expand preventive health services, as provided for in the Preventive 
Services Guidelines of the Health Resources and Service Administration 
that were in effect on January 1, 2017, with an emphasis on increasing 
access to critical, life-saving cancer screening, Pap tests, human 
papillomavirus vaccination, and diagnostic tests for women with cancer 
symptoms, particularly women of color.
    ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $200,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2017 through 2020.''.
    (b) Funding.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
programs related to breast and gynecologic cancers under title XIX of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and title X of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.), and the National 
Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, such sums as may be 
necessary for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2020.

SEC. 5. EXPAND CANCER SCREENING PROVIDER TRAINING.

    Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 
et seq.), as amended by section 4, is further amended by inserting 
after section 317P-1 the following:

``SEC. 317P-2. WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS DEMONSTRATION TRAINING 
              PROJECT.

    ``(a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary shall establish a 
demonstration program (referred to in this section as the `program') to 
award 3-year grants to eligible entities for the training of 
physicians, nurse practitioners, and other health care providers 
related to life-saving breast and gynecologic cancer screening for 
women.
    ``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the program is to enable each grant 
recipient to --
            ``(1) provide to licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, 
        and other health care providers, through clinical training, 
        education, and practice, the most up-to-date clinical 
        guidelines and research adopted by the National Academies of 
        Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in the area of preventive 
        cancer screening for breast and gynecologic cancers;
            ``(2) establish a model of training for physicians, nurse 
        practitioners, and other health care providers that specializes 
        in women's health care, with a specific focus on breast and 
        gynceologic cancer screening, that may be replicated 
        nationwide; and
            ``(3) train physicians, nurse practitioners, and other 
        health care providers to serve rural communities, low-income 
        communities, and communities of color in breast and gynecologic 
        cancer screening.
    ``(c) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, an entity shall be--
            ``(1) an entity that receives funding under section 1001;
            ``(2) an essential community provider primarily engaged in 
        family planning, as defined in section 156.235 of title 45, 
        Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations);
            ``(3) an entity that furnishes items or services to 
        individuals who are eligible for medical assistance under title 
        XIX of the Social Security Act; or
            ``(4) an entity that, at the time of application, provides 
        cancer screening services under the National Breast and 
        Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program of the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention.''.

SEC. 6. STUDY AND REPORT TO CONGRESS ON INCREASED CANCER SCREENING FOR 
              WOMEN.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(referred to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall conduct a 
study (and periodically update such study) on increased access to 
women's preventive life-saving cancer screening across the United 
States, and, not later than January 1, 2025, and every 5 years 
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on such 
study.
    (b) Contents.--The study and reports under subsection (a) shall 
include:
            (1) A 50-State analysis of breast and gynecologic cancer 
        rates among women, including by geographic area, income, race, 
        and status of insurance coverage.
            (2) A 50-State analysis of cancer screening provided by 
        women's health care providers, including clinical breast exams, 
        other screening for breast cancer, and screening for cervical 
        cancer, ovarian cancer, and other gynecologic cancers.
            (3) In consultation with the Comptroller General of the 
        United States, estimated Federal savings achieved through early 
        detection of breast and gynecologic cancer.
            (4) Analysis of how access to health care providers trained 
        under the program described in section 317P-2 of the Public 
        Health Service Act, as added by section 5, in comparison to 
        other health care providers, increased early detection of 
        cancer for women.
            (5) Recommendations by the Secretary with respect to the 
        need for continued increased access to women's health care 
        providers, such as the entities described in section 317P-2(c) 
        of the Public Health Service Act, as added by section 4, who 
        provide preventive care, including life-saving cancer 
        screening.
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