Originally Posted in the Pottstown Mercury

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep Chrissy Houlahan, D-6th Dist., has joined a bipartisan and bicameral effort to improve breast cancer screenings for U.S. service members, according to an announcement from her office.

She joined and U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, and Sens. Martha McSally, R-AZ, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, in introducing the Better and Robust Screening Today (BRST) Act.

The Better and Robust Screening Today Act requires the Department of Defense to cover the most effective breast cancer screening option: Digital Breast Tomosynthesis, also known as DBT or 3D mammography.

DBT is already covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and almost all other traditional health care plans. Currently, the defense department only covers DBT as a secondary option, after there is an issue with the first, traditional scan.

“Our active duty servicemembers, military family members, and veterans should have access to quality health care,” Houlahan said in a press release.

“The BRST Act marks an important step in addressing the gaps in TRICARE, which covers millions in our military community. DBT Mammography is the best screening for breast cancer we have for women with dense breast tissue," she said. "TRICARE should include coverage for this service so that both those who’ve served and their families have the best chance at early detection. I’m proud of this bipartisan and bicameral legislation borne from the minds of women veterans in Congress.”

The number of women in the Armed Forces continues to grow at a rapid pace. In 1973, at the end of the draft, women represented a mere two percent of the enlisted forces and eight percent of the officer corps. Today, those numbers have significantly increased to 16 percent and 18 percent respectively.

On July 19th, Houlahan led a letter that was signed by 50 bipartisan Members of Congress to the Honorable Thomas McCaffery, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs urging the Military Health System (MHS) to address the disparity in breast cancer screening coverage that is putting the lives of our nation’s servicemembers, military family members, and veterans at risk.

The Sixth District includes all of Chester County and a portion of southeast Berks County.