Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings Act” or the “PALS Act”.
Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings Act
A BILL
To ensure access to screening mammography services.
Sec. 2 Ensuring access to screening mammography services
In general— Effective during the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending January 1, 2018, any provision of law that refers (including through cross-reference to another provision of law) to the current recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force with respect to breast cancer screening, mammography, and prevention shall be administered by the Secretary involved as if—
such reference to such current recommendations were a reference to the recommendations of such Task Force with respect to breast cancer screening, mammography, and prevention last issued before 2009; and
such recommendations last issued before 2009 applied to any screening mammography modality under section 1861(jj) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(jj)).
Codification of current Medicare coverage and payment policies—
Definition— Section 1861(jj) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(jj)) is amended by inserting “, including any digital modality of such a procedure,” after “radiologic procedure”.
Coinsurance— Section 1833(a)(1)(Y) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(a)(1)(Y)) is amended by inserting “or are services described in section 1861(jj)” after “population”.
Frequency— Section 1834(c)(2)(B)(ii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(c)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: “for women described only in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A)”.
GAO study and report—
Study— The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on the methodologies and processes by which the United States Preventive Services Task Force develops recommendations regarding preventive services, including the transparency of such methodologies and processes, the engagement of stakeholders in such methodologies and processes, the responses of the Task Force to comments from stakeholders regarding draft research plans, draft evidence reviews, and draft recommendations, and the propriety of the data and other information on which the Task Force relies in developing a recommendation regarding a preventive service.
Report— The Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and to the appropriate committees of Congress, not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, a report on the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1), including any recommendations for administrative or legislative changes the Comptroller General determines necessary or appropriate to improve the methodologies and processes by which the United States Preventive Services Task Force develops recommendations regarding preventive services.