California state senator Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach) has introduced a bill that aims to reverse recent cuts to that state's low income breast cancer screening program.
On January 1, the California Department of Public Health's Every Woman Counts program for low-income women raised the eligibility age for screening services from 40 to 50 years of age and older. It also suspended all new enrollments for breast cancer screening until July 2, 2010.
Oropeza's bill, SB 836, would restore access to free screening and diagnostic services for low-income women. It also would require that breast cancer services be provided to all individuals exhibiting symptoms, regardless of age, and to individuals 40 and older.
"The decision to suspend screening is a slap at California's low-income women," Oropeza said in a statement. "Those who can least afford help in detecting and fighting this deadly disease are the ones most affected."
Related Reading
CA law ups reporting rules for mammo centers, January 5, 2010
California to raise mammo screening age, December 15, 2009
ACR issues alert for mammo coverage changes, December 10, 2009
U.S. Senate boosts preventive care for women, December 3, 2009
U.S. debate over mammograms splits along party lines, December 3, 2009
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![A normal mammogram confirmed by three-year radiologic follow-up illustrates reader-marked regions of interest (ROIs) during (A) unaided (round 1) and (B) artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted (round 2) reading. Each colored dot represents an ROI for recall by a human reader. Readers could mark more than one ROI per case, represented by multiple dots of the same color. During AI-assisted reading, the AI system displayed three visible prompts: two with suspicion of malignancy scores of 35% (left mediolateral oblique [L MLO] and craniocaudal [L CC]) and one with a suspicion of malignancy score of 10% (right craniocaudal [R CC]), shown as polygonal overlays. Without AI, six of 10 readers (60%) marked a false-positive ROI. With AI assistance, this fell to two of 10 (20%). R MLO = right mediolateral oblique.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/2026-07-14-radiology-mammogram-ai-auto-bias.H0bYO8QlWs.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=100&q=70&w=100)
![A normal mammogram confirmed by three-year radiologic follow-up illustrates reader-marked regions of interest (ROIs) during (A) unaided (round 1) and (B) artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted (round 2) reading. Each colored dot represents an ROI for recall by a human reader. Readers could mark more than one ROI per case, represented by multiple dots of the same color. During AI-assisted reading, the AI system displayed three visible prompts: two with suspicion of malignancy scores of 35% (left mediolateral oblique [L MLO] and craniocaudal [L CC]) and one with a suspicion of malignancy score of 10% (right craniocaudal [R CC]), shown as polygonal overlays. Without AI, six of 10 readers (60%) marked a false-positive ROI. With AI assistance, this fell to two of 10 (20%). R MLO = right mediolateral oblique.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/2026-07-14-radiology-mammogram-ai-auto-bias.H0bYO8QlWs.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
