To lead on early detection — Florida must close the coverage gap

Florida is facing a quiet, but deeply urgent coverage crisis – and it’s showing up every day in our breast cancer outcomes. In 2026 alone, an estimated 183,100 Floridians will be diagnosed with cancer. Of those, nearly 24,700 will be breast cancer cases, and approximately 3,360 Floridians will lose their lives to this disease. These are not abstract numbers. They are lives disrupted, families forever changed. They represent our spouses, parents, children, siblings, neighbors, and friends.

A Florida mother of two delayed her mammogram for more than 2 years because she lacked insurance; by the time she sought care, her breast cancer had already spread.

Florida ranks fourth-worst in the nation for the percentage of people under age 65 without health insurance. For thousands of women and men across our state, that lack of coverage means something very real: missed mammograms, postponed follow-up care, unanswered symptoms, and cancers diagnosed at later, more dangerous stages, when options are fewer, and outcomes are worse.

When detected early, breast cancer is highly treatable, with survival rates dramatically higher than when diagnosed at advanced stages. Early-stage treatment is also significantly less costly. But when screening is delayed, and cancer is diagnosed after it has spread beyond the breast, treatment becomes up to five times more expensive and far more complex.

Behind every late-stage diagnosis is the story of lost time and often, lost opportunity. The human toll is immeasurable. The economic impact is substantial.

Breast cancer incidence in Florida has increased by approximately 1% annually from 2012 to 2021, with steeper increases among women under 50. That trend underscores the importance of earlier screening and sustained investment in prevention and detection. And, for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured Floridians, access to early detection is often the difference between life and death.

That is why the Mary Brogan Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program is so critical. The program is a federal-state partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Florida Department of Health, providing lifesaving screening and diagnostic services to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women who do not qualify for Medicaid.

For many participants, this program is the first and sometimes only doorway into the health care system.

The program is essential, but it is stretched thin. In a state with one of the highest uninsured rates in the nation, it remains one of the only structured pathways to early detection for low-income Floridians. Yet current funding allows services to reach only 5%  of the at-need population, as funding allows. That means the overwhelming majority of eligible individuals are left waiting while cancer grows, spreads and becomes harder to treat, driving higher costs and lower outcomes.

Early detection is not only a compassionate policy; it is a fiscally responsible policy. Investing in screening helps avoid far higher treatment costs down the road. More importantly, it spares families the devastation of preventable late-stage diagnoses, which are the kind that arrive with fewer options and harder conversations.

The Florida Legislature has taken important steps in recent years, increasing funding and expanding eligibility to women starting at age 40. These gains reflect deliberate leadership and bipartisan commitment. We also appreciate the Senate’s support for $4.1 million this Session. Now is the moment to build on that progress, not pause it. The next step is turning that progress into a durable policy that does not have to be renegotiated each year.

Building on that momentum, Florida policymakers should establish $6 million in recurring funding for the Mary Brogan Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program in this year’s budget. This investment would provide stability for patients, strengthen partnerships with county health departments and community clinics, and allow the state to reach significantly more eligible individuals before cancer advances beyond early, treatable stages. And as more eligible Floridians are reached and documented demand increases, funding should continue to reflect the scale of the need. Early detection only works when access keeps pace with reality.

Florida has an opportunity to lead the nation in how we address breast cancer – from screening and treatment to survivorship and long-term outcomes. Closing the coverage gap and strengthening early detection are among the clearest steps we can take during the 2026 Legislative Session.

Every late-stage diagnosis that could have been prevented is a reminder that access matters. We know what works. We have the data. We have the infrastructure. Now we must ensure that every eligible Floridian can access lifesaving screening at the time it can make the greatest difference.

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Karen Patti serves as executive director of the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation (FBCF), the state’s leading organization dedicated to ending the suffering caused by breast cancer through advocacy, education, research, and direct services. The FBCF is uniquely focused on Florida, ensuring that every dollar raised stays in the state to support initiatives that improve screening, treatment, survivorship, research, and outcomes.