Senator Collins Secures Commitment from Surgeon General Nominee to Address Rural Health Care Deserts in Maine During Confirmation Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, at a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, U.S. Senator Susan Collins questioned Dr. Nicole Saphier, the nominee to serve as U.S. Surgeon General, about rural Americans' access to breast cancer screenings. During their exchange, Dr. Saphier committed to working with Senator Collins and her staff on identifying and addressing health care deserts in Maine.

Senator Collins has long worked to expand access to cancer screenings in rural Maine. In 2022, she secured more than $1 million in Congressionally Directed Spending to establish a mobile mammography unit in Piscataquis and Somerset counties. To date, the unit has screened more than 1,000 women for breast cancer. She also introduced the bipartisan Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) for Cancer Act with Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), a lifesaving program that provides breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services for women who are low-income, uninsured, and underinsured and do not qualify for Medicaid.

A transcript of their exchange is as follows:

Click HERE to watch and HERE to download video of their exchange.

Senator Collins:

"Dr. Saphier, you've been a strong advocate for women to get early breast cancer screenings in order to better treat and prevent this disease. Just this morning, I met in my office with a group of Mainers who had had cancer. They are big advocates for screening, for research, and it's very difficult in rural states where they may have to travel long distances. That's one reason that I secured funding for a mobile mammography machine to go all over rural areas. And I'm very proud of the fact that they've screened more than 1000 women who most likely would not have been screened, and in some cases, breast cancer has been detected. Senator Baldwin and I have introduced legislation that would reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. It's been proven successful. It's detected nearly 80,000 breast cancers and over 25,000 pre-malignant breast lesions. Without access to early detection programs, many people, particularly those who are uninsured, are forced to delay or forego screening. As Surgeon General, how would you work to spread awareness about the importance of screenings, and also ensure that women, particularly those living in rural areas, have access to screenings?"

Dr. Nicole Saphier:

"Thank you, Senator Collins, for the question and for taking the time--you had a very busy day, and you were able to connect with me on the phone. And we spoke on a wide array of topics. And we both obviously have a passion for women's health and preventative medicine. And what you've already highlighted, your advocacy and your attention to breast cancer and cervical cancer screening awareness and accessibility is something that I have seen and have been in awe of for a very long time with you. And I appreciate your efforts because, as someone who reads mammography and someone who is continuously trying to educate her patients and the public on the benefits of cancer screening, it is important for me. And if confirmed as Surgeon General, one of my crucial, crucial messages is going to be that early detection matters. And with that is cancer screening. But as you are pointing out, the fact that I can say everything that I want, but access is equally as important as the information. And I am very much looking forward to working with the other leaders in HHS, because access and coverage are not under the purview of the Surgeon General. But I will take my knowledge as a physician and my experience as communicating and I will do what I can to get that message to patients. You also mentioned something else during our meeting that probably I'm the only person in this entire building that cares about as much, is the fact that, in Maine, that you are seeing areas where radiologists are scarce, radiologists like myself. And so, the people of Maine are not having access to the high-quality health care in the United States that I believe every American should have access to. And so, being creative with various ways on how we can mobilize various portions of health care is something I am very eager to work with. You had mentioned teleradiology, but being a part of the Commission Corps is something that I am incredibly excited about, if I am confirmed, and working with you and your staff to identify any potential health care deserts in Maine that we might be able to help serve."

Senator Collins:

"Thank you. I look forward to working with you on that."

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