Urge your legislators to cosponsor S. 2821/H.R. 1826 – the PSA Screening for HIM Act. This legislation requires private health insurance plans to cover preventive prostate cancer screenings that are not already covered under the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) for African American men and men with a family history of prostate cancer – without imposing any cost-sharing requirement.

USPSTF recommendations on clinical preventive health services have created confusion among patients and the provider community for years. For example, in May 2012 the USPSTF recommended against the prostate-specific-antigen (PSA) based screening test for prostate cancer in all men, regardless of risk. In 2018, USPSTF updated their recommendation for PSA screening from a “D” across the board to a “C” for men aged 55-69 and a “D” rating for men over the age of 70. Many doctors and professional organizations, including the American Urological Association (AUA), encourage yearly PSA screening for men between age 40 and 55 depending on risk factors such as race and family history. Unfortunately, the Task Force has adopted an approach that is too broad, unnecessarily putting certain demographics at risk rather than considering individual risk factors like race and family history.

Contact your legislators and urge them to cosponsor the PSA Screening for HIM Act to help remove barriers to preventative service for at risk populations.