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A new bill introduced today by California Congressman Jimmy Gomez and Washington Senator Patty Murray, the Jeannette Acosta Invest in Women’s Health Act of 2021, would help address many of these barriers. Named after a former congressional staffer who passed away after a late-stage cervical cancer diagnosis in 2017, the bill would expand access to preventive and life-saving screenings for cancers that most frequently affect women, with a focus on women of color.
Covid-19 has exposed and exacerbated the disastrous consequences structural racism and other inequalities have had on access to healthcare and created additional challenges in accessing cancer screenings for those already struggling to receive them. The US government should take concrete steps to address glaring racial disparities in health. Ensuring women of color and women living in rural and neglected communities have access to life-saving cancer screenings is a start.