Accurate Cancer Screenings for our Veterans Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 11021 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 11021

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a review and take specified actions to promote the accurate cancer screening of veterans, and for other purposes.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 12, 2026

Ms. Mace introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

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A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a review and take specified actions to promote the accurate cancer screening of veterans, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Accurate Cancer Screenings for our Veterans Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. REVIEW AND ACTION BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO PROMOTE THE ACCURATE CANCER SCREENING OF VETERANS.

(a) Review Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a review of the processes of the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to cancer screening of veterans to determine whether such processes provide satisfactory availability of cancer screenings for veterans and adequately identify cancer in early stages in veterans. Such review shall include, with respect to each medical facility of the Department, each of the following measures: (1) A comprehensive review of the designated time and full- time equivalent employment assigned to each position performing cancer care coordinator duties at such facility, the current caseload of each staff member performing such duties, and any collateral duties assigned to each such staff member. (2) A requirement that the head of such facility document and track whether staffing and protected time for staff members performing cancer care coordinator duties at such facility are sufficient to perform required cancer care coordinator duties and, in any case in which such staffing or protected time is found to be insufficient, that the head of such facility establish and implement a corrective staffing plan to address such insufficiency. (3) A requirement that cancer care coordinator duties not be assigned as a collateral duty to a staff member whose cancer care coordinator duties are expected to meet the defined caseload workload of a full-time cancer care coordinator position (1.0 full time equivalent employment), and that a staff member performing cancer care coordinator duties on a full-time basis not be assigned collateral duties that materially interfere with their cancer care coordinator duties. (4) A review of the availability of cancer screenings for veterans who are younger than the age generally recommended for such screenings under standard civilian screening guidelines, in consideration of evidence that veterans may be at elevated risk of developing cancer at a younger age than the general population, and may be more likely overall to develop cancer as a result of factors including exposure to toxic substances, burn pits, and other hazards related to military service, including-- (A) an assessment of whether current screening eligibility ages and risk-based screening protocols of the Department adequately account for such elevated and earlier onset risk; and (B) recommendations, if any, for adjusting such screening eligibility ages or protocols for veterans with relevant exposure histories, including veterans enrolled in the Department's toxic exposure screening process under section 1710 of title 38, United States Code. (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on the results of the review. The report shall-- (1) list the total number of cancer care coordinators in the workforce of the Department overall, as well as disaggregated by location and facility; (2) include a detailed accounting of methodologies and practices by which veterans are administered cancer screenings, or the criteria by which they are selected and approved to have a cancer screening; and (3) describe any shortcomings of care that may be present related to cancer screenings for veterans, generally or for specific populations of veterans, such as veterans in specific age groups or locations. (c) Actions.-- (1) Policy adjustment required.--If the report submitted under subsection (b) identifies that veterans generally or for any specific population do not have satisfactory availability of cancer screenings, including as a result of the findings required under subsection (a)(4), the Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the submission of such report, adjust the policies, protocols, and screening eligibility criteria of the Department as necessary to ensure that such veterans have satisfactory availability of cancer screenings, taking into account the elevated and earlier onset cancer risk faced by veterans, as described in subsection (a)(4). (2) Minimum requirements.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, at a minimum-- (A) revise, as appropriate, the age-based eligibility criteria for cancer screenings offered through the Department to reflect the findings identified in the report submitted under subsection (b), taking into consideration that veterans may be at elevated risk of developing cancer at a younger age than the general population; (B) ensure that veterans enrolled in the Department's toxic exposure screening process under section 1710 of title 38, United States Code, are informed of any adjusted cancer screening eligibility resulting from this Act; and (C) issue updated clinical guidance to medical facilities of the Department reflecting any changes made under this Act. (3) Notification to congress.--Not later than 30 days after making any adjustment under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate a written notification outlining all adjustments made and the rationale for each such adjustment. (d) Definitions.--In this Act: (1) Cancer care coordinator.--The term ``cancer care coordinator'' means a physician, nurse, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or other licensed medical and health care professional of the Department who is responsible, in whole or in part, for coordinating, managing, or overseeing the screening, diagnosis, treatment, or follow up care of veterans with cancer or suspected cancer. (2) Cancer screening.--The term ``cancer screening'' means any medical examination, test, procedure, or diagnosis furnished entirely, or in part, by the Department for the purpose of detecting cancer in an individual who is not yet formally diagnosed with having any form of cancer, or who has once been diagnosed with cancer but is believed to be in remission of the disease. <all>