Help Increase Access to Life-Saving Breast Imaging!

Support critical access to life-saving breast imaging

The Early Detection Saves Lives Coalition consists of leading patient, medical, and industry organizations who are working to enact legislation in Wisconsin that will reduce breast cancer deaths by requiring health plans to cover:

Supplemental screenings for women with dense breast tissue and other high-risk factors.
Diagnostic screenings for women who require follow-up exams.

Encourage your Wisconsin state lawmakers to support expanded access to supplemental and diagnostic breast imaging for Wisconsin women!

Typical mammograms are less effective for women with dense breast tissue, potentially missing up to 50% of breast cancers. This happens because both dense tissue and tumors appear white on the screenings, making it difficult to detect cancer. About 50% of women have dense breast tissue, and these women are 4-6 times more likely to develop breast cancer, making early detection even more crucial.

About 10% of women will be called back for additional imaging after their screening mammogram. However, studies show 1 in 5 patients would reportedly skip recommended follow-up imaging to avoid paying a deductible, which can delay critical care and impact timely breast cancer detection.

While health insurers are required to cover screening mammograms who meet specific criteria without cost-sharing, there is no requirement to cover medically necessary follow-up exams. Unfortunately, the cost of supplemental or diagnostic breast imaging can range from $234 to over $1,000 in out-of-pocket costs, imposing a major financial barrier that can result in delayed cancer diagnoses and limited options.

Join the Early Detection Saves Lives Coalition in advocating for the elimination of financial burdens by requiring health insurance policies to cover diagnostic or supplemental breast imaging. This would make it easier for Wisconsin women to receive additional life-saving testing and help ensure that our loved ones- mothers, daughters, and sisters, can get the care they desperately need.

Expanding access to critical, life-saving screenings ensures that women who need secondary breast imaging have the same access to optimal care as those without dense breasts or other risk factors, while also removing the cost barrier. No woman should have to choose between paying a household bill and receiving potentially life-saving imaging. Too many Wisconsin women have lost their lives due to limited access to necessary healthcare—it’s time we start saving them.

Access to the full spectrum of breast imaging is critical
to catching breast cancer early and ensuring that women can fight back. Join us in supporting increased access to advanced screenings, because early detection saves lives!

Complete the form below – along with a message that can be personalized – and you’ll instantly communicate with key members of the Wisconsin Legislature on why it’s important to increase critical access to life-saving imaging.

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Dear Legislator,

I’m writing to ask for your support of LRB-0466/LRB-3021 (“Gail’s Law”), which provides critical access to life saving breast imaging for women with dense breast tissue and other high risk factors. Gail’s Law is named after the late Gail Zeamer, a fierce women’s health champion who played a pivotal role in passing Wisconsin’s Breast Density Notification Bill in 2017 and fought tirelessly for increased access to life-saving breast cancer screenings.

In Wisconsin, health insurers are required to provide an annual mammogram to women over 50, and two to women aged 45-49 who meet specific criteria at no out-of-pocket cost. Unfortunately, standard mammograms are not always effective at detecting breast cancer. 40% of women have dense breast tissue, which makes them 4 to 6 times more likely to develop breast cancer and makes that cancer much harder to detect on a mammogram.

Out-of-pocket costs for supplemental or diagnostic screenings are often cost-prohibitive, ranging from $234 to over $1,000. Research reveals that 1 in 5 patients would reportedly skip recommended follow-up imaging to avoid paying a deductible. This financial barrier prevents early breast cancer detection, allowing cancer to grow and spread, making it more difficult to treat, and making treatment both more invasive and expensive.

The costs of care if cancer is not caught early is often over $100,000, proving to be a serious deterrent from people receiving the care they need. Data from the American Cancer Society shows that 51% of cancer patients and survivors have debt related to their cancer care and of those who had debt, 45% delayed or avoided medical care because of cost concerns.

Gail’s Law addresses this disparity by eliminating patient cost-sharing for supplemental screenings for women with dense breast tissue and other high-risk factors, as well as for diagnostic screenings for women who require follow-up exams—ensuring cancer can be caught early, when it is least invasive and most treatable.

Every year, Wisconsin loses hundreds of moms, daughters, sisters, and friends to breast cancer. Gail’s Law will save lives. Women across the state are hopeful that they can count on your support for this bipartisan legislation. Thank you for your attention and for helping us give every woman in Wisconsin the chance to survive.

Thank you for making your voice heard! Follow us on social media, and encourage others to join our campaign to increase access to life-saving imaging.