On October 27th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a plan to help women get answers faster after an abnormal mammogram. Part of the plan is a new agreement with DenseBreast-info.org, a nonprofit that teaches women about dense breast tissue. Companies that make mammogram machines and run imaging centers help fund the group.
Who funds DenseBreast-info?
DenseBreast-info is a nonprofit funded by grants and donations. Its September 2025 press release lists 10 supporters. They include Hologic, which makes mammogram machines; RadNet, which runs imaging centers; Bracco Diagnostics, which makes contrast dye for scans; and Myriad Genetics, which sells genetic tests. The group also works with Congress to pass the Find It Early Act. That bill would require health plans to cover extra breast imaging, at no cost, for women with dense breasts or higher risk.
Under the agreement, HHS’s Office on Women’s Health will work with the group to expand education about breast density. Dr. Tammy Huizenga is an adviser at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). In the HHS press release, she said women deserve information about “screening options beyond mammography.”
Dense breasts have more gland and fiber tissue than fat, and on a mammogram that tissue can hide a tumor. Since September 10, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required every mammogram report to tell a woman whether her breasts are dense.
Does an MRI help women with dense breasts?
One large trial took place in the Netherlands. Researchers at University Medical Center Utrecht studied 40,373 women ages 50 to 75 who had extremely dense breasts and normal mammograms. Some were also invited to get an MRI. In that group, 2.5 cancers per 1,000 screenings showed up between scheduled mammograms over 2 years. The mammogram-only group had 5.0. The MRI also brought false alarms: about 80 for every 1,000 MRI screenings. The researchers didn’t track whether fewer women died.
In 2024, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a panel of independent experts, reviewed the evidence. It looked at extra ultrasound and MRI for women with dense breasts and a normal mammogram. It found too little evidence to say whether those scans do more good than harm. The task force still recommends a mammogram every other year from age 40 through 74.
Does cost keep women from coming back?
A callback is different from extra screening. When a routine mammogram shows a spot that needs a closer look, the clinic calls the woman back for more tests. Those can include a second mammogram, an ultrasound, an MRI, or a biopsy.
Cost keeps some women from coming back. In a 2022 survey presented to the Radiological Society of North America, more than 1 in 5 women said a deductible would keep them from returning for more tests.
Who pays now depends on three things: your plan, your state, and whether you’re on Medicare.
Is my follow-up test free now?
Since January, most private plans have had to cover the extra imaging and biopsy results a woman needs “to complete the screening process” at no cost when you use in-network doctors. Regulations also require private plans to cover patient navigators, staff members who help with rides, scheduling, and paperwork. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) made that change in December 2024. HRSA approved the change under the previous administration, and it took effect under this one.
HHS didn’t mention this rule in its press release about the new plan. Before it took effect, benefits advisers warned employers that many plans billed follow-up imaging as “diagnostic,” which meant patients paid part of the bill.
Who pays for an MRI after a normal mammogram?
It matters most for extra scans after a normal mammogram. HRSA didn’t write a separate rule for dense breasts, and its guidelines don’t say whether an MRI for dense tissue after a normal mammogram counts. So the plan and the state decide. Since January 2022, Pennsylvania has required plans it regulates to cover extra screening for women with extremely dense breasts. DenseBreast-info’s release says state laws are inconsistent and that many kinds of plans are exempt from them.
What if you’re on Medicare?
HRSA’s rule covers private plans. Under traditional Medicare, a routine mammogram is free, but a follow-up mammogram costs the yearly Part B deductible plus 20% of Medicare’s approved price. are still in the task force’s screening range.
In January 2023, Medicare made a colonoscopy after a positive stool test part of its free screening benefit. It hasn’t done the same for follow-up breast imaging. That change is up to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Congress, or both.
What can Congress, regulators, employers, and you do?
The Departments of Labor, HHS, and the Treasury enforce coverage rules for private plans. In January 2022, they told plans they couldn’t charge for a colonoscopy after a positive stool test. They could issue the same kind of guidance on HRSA’s rule. Congress would move on the Find It Early Act. Employers can ask how their health plans bill a follow-up after a routine mammogram. A woman who gets a callback can ask her plan, in writing, to cover the follow-up as preventive care under HRSA’s guidelines. She can ask for a navigator, too.