Know Your Risk Act
- Sponsor
- Rep. Letlow, Julia [R-LA-5]
- Committees
- Energy and Commerce Committee (primary)
- Last action
- Oct 6, 2026
Bottom line
The bill aims to improve breast cancer early detection and prevention by standardizing risk assessment tools, increasing public awareness, and integrating risk assessment into federal grant programs for screening services.
What it actually does
This bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit a report to Congress on existing breast cancer risk assessment tools, identifying inaccuracies and gaps in their use, and outlining a plan for a single, comprehensive, publicly accessible tool. It also amends the Public Health Service Act to require states receiving federal grants for breast and cervical cancer screening programs to conduct evidence-based breast cancer risk assessments, implement standardized tools, and report on assessment outcomes and disparities.
Proponents argue
Supporters argue that standardizing breast cancer risk assessment tools and integrating them into clinical practice will significantly improve early detection rates, reduce disparities in care, and ultimately save lives by enabling more targeted screening and prevention strategies, especially for the 85% of women with no family history of the disease.
Opponents contend
Critics might contend that mandating specific risk assessment tools or the development of a single comprehensive tool could stifle innovation in a rapidly evolving field, create undue administrative burdens for healthcare providers, or that a singular tool might not adequately address the diverse needs and risk factors across all populations, potentially leading to new forms of disparities or inaccuracies.
The bill is relatively short and clearly structured, allowing an informed reader to understand its core provisions and implications within a typical legislative review period.
Section 3
HHS Report on Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tools
This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit a report to Congress within 180 days of the bill's enactment. The report must identify inaccuracies and gaps in the use of existing breast cancer risk assessment tools, along with the factors contributing to these issues. Additionally, it requires HHS to outline a plan for creating a single, comprehensive, publicly accessible breast cancer risk assessment tool, including strategies for public awareness and recommendations for building consensus among various stakeholders such as patients, medical providers, and health care entities.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue this report is a crucial first step to understanding the current landscape of breast cancer risk assessment, identifying its flaws, and laying the groundwork for a unified, accessible tool that can benefit millions of women by improving early detection and prevention.
Critics contend
Some might argue that mandating a 'single' tool could be premature or overly prescriptive, potentially stifling the development of diverse, specialized tools that might be more effective for specific populations or risk profiles, or that the process of achieving consensus will be overly complex and slow.
Tradeoffs
The tension lies between the desire for a standardized, widely accessible tool to reduce confusion and improve consistency, and the potential for such standardization to limit innovation or fail to capture the nuances of individual risk factors and evolving medical science.
Section 4
Integration of Risk Assessment into Public Health Service Act Grants
This section amends Section 1501(a) of the Public Health Service Act, which governs federal grants for breast and cervical cancer screening programs. It adds new requirements for grant recipients, mandating them to conduct evidence-based breast cancer risk assessments, implement standardized tools (including integration into electronic health record systems), develop public education programs on risk factors, and support research to improve assessment models across diverse populations. It also amends reporting requirements for states receiving these grants, requiring them to submit data on the number of individuals assessed, those identified at elevated risk, referrals for follow-up services, and disparities in access among various populations.