{"id":11610,"date":"2020-05-13T01:52:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T01:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/13\/3d-mammograms-will-be-covered-by-tricare-starting-this-month\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:38:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:38:42","slug":"3d-mammograms-will-be-covered-by-tricare-starting-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/military-benefits\/2020\/05\/13\/3d-mammograms-will-be-covered-by-tricare-starting-this-month\/","title":{"rendered":"3D mammograms will be covered by Tricare starting this month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tricare is expanding its breast cancer screening coverage this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting on May 29, Tricare will cover Digital Breast Tomosynthesis<\/a> \u2014 known as 3D mammography or DBT \u2014under its provisional coverage program, according to Republican Sen. Martha McSally from Arizona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a major victory for our female service members and veterans covered under Tricare,\u201d McSally, a former A-10 pilot who served in the Air Force for 26 years, said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cBreast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women, but when detected early the overall chances of survival increase dramatically.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWomen in our armed forces now have access to the best preventative breast cancer screenings,\u201d McSally said. \u201cI\u2019m glad the Defense Department heard our repeated calls for change and implemented this commonsense policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All women over the age of 40 are eligible for coverage. Annual coverage will also be available to women 30 and older who are deemed a high risk for developing breast cancer. That means women who have a history of breast cancer have at least a 15 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer based on risk assessment tools, or have extremely dense breasts, among several other identified risk factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although other national payers including the Department of Veterans Affairs and Medicare already cover 3D mammograms, Tricare has historically only covered the procedure following the detection of a lump during two-dimensional imaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\t