If you have no insurance and you need a mammogram, start with your state's CDC-funded screening program. It pays for the mammogram, the follow-up imaging, and the biopsy if one is needed, and eligibility runs up to 250% of the federal poverty level. Four other routes sit alongside it, below.
Route 1: your state's CDC screening program
The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) is the largest source of free mammograms in the country, with 71 CDC-funded programs covering every state, several territories, and tribal organizations. You may qualify if you have no insurance or your insurance does not cover screening exams, your income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty level, and you are 40 to 64. CDC adds that certain women who are younger or older may also qualify, so call before you rule yourself out.
Coverage goes past the mammogram. The program funds screening mammograms, clinical breast exams, screening MRI in some cases, and the diagnostic services that follow an abnormal result. In 2024 it screened 305,992 women and diagnosed 2,062 invasive breast cancers.
Every state runs intake its own way, under a different name and phone number. Our state-by-state free mammogram locator maps each state to its program operator, and CDC runs its own program finder.
Most people miss what happens if the program finds something. The Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000 lets states offer treatment through Medicaid to women diagnosed inside the NBCCEDP. Ask the intake worker to confirm your state took that option, because being diagnosed inside the program is what opens that door.
Route 2: a community health center, which cannot turn you away
Federally funded health centers set fees by income and family size, and HRSA requires them to serve everyone, including people who cannot pay. About 90% of their patients have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. Not every health center has a mammography unit, but each has the clinician who orders the mammogram and staff who know which local program absorbs the cost. Find one through our health center directory.
Route 3: hospital financial assistance, an obligation and not a favor
Nonprofit hospitals hold their tax exemption on conditions set out in Section 501(r) of the tax code, two of which are a written financial assistance policy and a cap on what they may charge patients who qualify for it. Ask billing for "the financial assistance policy" or the "charity care application" by name, because it is rarely offered. Many hospitals apply it to bills already issued, so a statement in a drawer is worth a call.
Route 4: grant-funded programs at partner imaging centers
The National Breast Cancer Foundation funds free breast screening and diagnostic services through partner facilities for women who are low income, uninsured, or underinsured. Covered services include screening and diagnostic mammograms, 3D mammography, clinical breast exams, ultrasounds, and a limited number of biopsies. The diagnostic half of that list is the valuable part, because diagnostic work is where the cost lands.
Route 5, if you're insured: most private plans now cover the follow-up too
Under the ACA's preventive care rules, a screening mammogram every one to two years for women 40 and older comes with no copay or coinsurance in network, even before you meet your deductible. For years that protection stopped at the word screening. A call-back for extra views, an ultrasound or a biopsy was coded diagnostic, and the bill went against your deductible.
HRSA changed that when it updated its Women's Preventive Services Guidelines in December 2024. For women at average risk, the guideline now says that when additional imaging (MRI, ultrasound or more mammography) and pathology evaluation are needed, "these services also are recommended to complete the screening process for malignancies." Non-grandfathered private plans, including employer plans, must cover recommended HRSA services with no cost sharing.
The requirement starts with each plan's first plan year beginning on or after December 20, 2025, one year after HRSA accepted the update, so for most plans it took effect in 2026. A plan whose year started in October 2025 picks it up at its October 2026 renewal.
The cheapest route is usually a community health center: they see patients regardless of insurance, charge on a sliding scale set by your income, and cannot turn you away for inability to pay. Our directory of free and charitable clinics lists verified centers by state. Ask any regular office for the self-pay rate and a prompt-pay discount before you book, because the cash price is often well below the billed one. A same-day telehealth visit is self-pay and is not billed to Medicaid or commercial insurance, so if you are covered the clinic route costs less. If you would rather see the price up front and book today:
Sesame Care
A same-day online visit with a licensed clinician. Prices are shown before you book; visits start at $34 and vary by clinician and location (checked August 2026).
See the price before you bookAffiliate link, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Free doesn't mean fast. In a study of 2,554 women with an abnormal screening mammogram at an urban academic center, Black women waited a median of 12 days for diagnostic imaging and, when a biopsy was needed, 35 days from screening to a tissue diagnosis.
A 2026 analysis found follow-up delays persisting years after the pandemic began. Our guide to the mammogram mortality gap covers how that interval compounds and what to ask for.
Grandfathered plans, higher-risk women and Medicare fall outside the rule
Grandfathered plans, generally those created on or before March 23, 2010 and not changed in certain ways since, are exempt. "Average risk" leaves out women with a BRCA mutation, untested women whose parent, sibling or child carries one, other inherited cancer syndromes, a previously diagnosed high-risk breast lesion, or high-dose chest radiation between ages 10 and 30. The guideline doesn't address extra services for women at higher risk, so ask your plan how it covers your follow-up.
Medicare runs on its own rules. Part B covers a screening mammogram every 12 months at no cost when the provider accepts assignment, but for a diagnostic mammogram you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the Part B deductible. Medicaid benefits are set state by state, so ask your Medicaid plan how it pays for follow-up imaging.
The federal rule covers follow-up to a screening mammogram, not imaging ordered because you found a lump yourself. Some states go further. Washington bars carriers from charging cost sharing for diagnostic breast exams, including for an abnormality detected outside a screening, and for supplemental exams for women at higher risk, on non-grandfathered plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2024 (plans paired with a health savings account get a partial exception).
State laws like Washington's reach only the insurance a state regulates. A self-funded employer plan answers to federal law instead, and the federal HRSA rule still applies to it, so ask your HR office which kind of plan you have.
A bill for follow-up imaging can be fixed or appealed
Even HealthCare.gov warns that "$0 cost isn't guaranteed in all cases," so read every statement after a call-back. If follow-up imaging or pathology lands on your deductible, ask your plan in writing to reprocess the claim as preventive care under HRSA's Women's Preventive Services Guidelines for breast cancer screening.
If the plan refuses, file an internal appeal within 180 days of the denial, and ask for an external review if that fails. Before a biopsy, ask the plan in writing how it will process the procedure and the pathology, so the answer is on paper before the bill is.
When to start and how often
The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends biennial screening mammography for women aged 40 to 74, a B grade recommendation finalized April 30, 2024. That grade is what obliges most insurers to cover it with no cost sharing. The American Cancer Society differs slightly: 40 to 44 may start annual screening, 45 to 54 should screen annually, and 55 and older can move to every other year.
Age 40 is not an arbitrary line for Black women. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Black women, 34% of new cancer diagnoses, and in 2022 it was again the leading cause of cancer death among Black women. The American Cancer Society expects 40,530 new cases and 6,170 deaths among Black women in 2025, and the median age at diagnosis is 61.
Getting screened isn't the weak link. 80% of Black women aged 40 to 74 report a mammogram within the past two years. What follows it is where the losses are: fewer than six in ten Black women are diagnosed while the disease is still localized, and five-year relative survival for cancers diagnosed in Black women during 2014 to 2020 was 84%. About 1 in 5 breast cancers in Black women is triple-negative, a subtype with one of the worst prognoses.
Your report now tells you whether your breasts are dense
Since September 10, 2024, the FDA has required every US mammography facility to state your breast density in the plain-language summary it sends you. If your tissue is dense, the notification reads: "Breast tissue can be either dense or not dense. Dense tissue makes it harder to find breast cancer on a mammogram and also raises the risk of developing breast cancer. Your breast tissue is dense. In some people with dense tissue, other imaging tests in addition to a mammogram may help find cancers. Talk to your healthcare provider about breast density, risks for breast cancer, and your individual situation."
Dense means your breasts hold more fibrous and glandular tissue and less fat. It is common, it is not a disease, and you cannot feel it or change it. Dense tissue and tumors both appear white on a mammogram, so a cancer can hide in the background. If your letter says dense, ask your clinician whether supplemental imaging (usually ultrasound or MRI) makes sense for you, and ask the price before you schedule.
The same rule puts a deadline on bad news. When a mammogram is read as suspicious or highly suggestive of malignancy, the facility must send the report to your provider and the summary to you within 7 calendar days. If you have heard nothing at all, call and ask. Silence is not a result.
What to bring and what to expect
Bring a photo ID, proof of income (pay stubs, a tax return, or a benefits letter) if you are applying through an income-based program, and the name of every facility where you have had a previous mammogram, because a radiologist who can compare years has more to work with. Skip deodorant, antiperspirant, powder, and lotion on your chest and underarms that morning, since the residue reads as white specks on the images.
How to get care
Start with whichever free route fits. Call your state's CDC program through our screening locator, or book with a community health center that sets the fee from your income. If you want a clinician who takes a breast complaint seriously the first time you raise it, our directory helps you find a Black provider. Three questions settle the money: does this cover the diagnostic workup too, what is the self-pay price, and who do I call if a bill arrives anyway.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a mammogram cost without insurance? ▼
There is no single national price. Ask the imaging center for its self-pay or cash price before booking, and ask whether it takes patients through the CDC screening program or has a financial assistance policy. Through the CDC program, a health center's sliding fee scale, or a grant-funded partner facility, the screening is free rather than discounted.
How do I find a free mammogram near me? ▼
Two calls cover most of the country: your state's CDC-funded screening program, and the nearest federally funded health center, which sets fees by income and cannot refuse you for inability to pay. The National Breast Cancer Foundation also publishes a search for funded partner facilities.
If a free mammogram finds cancer, who pays for the treatment? ▼
The Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000 allows states to cover treatment through Medicaid for women diagnosed through the CDC program. Ask the intake worker whether your state offers it, because being diagnosed inside the program is what qualifies you.
My insurance covered the mammogram. Why did I get a bill? ▼
Usually because the follow-up was billed as diagnostic. Starting with plan years that begin in 2026, most private plans must cover the extra imaging and pathology that finish an abnormal screening with no cost sharing. Grandfathered plans are exempt, women at higher risk fall outside the guideline, and billing errors still happen.
Ask your plan in writing to reprocess the claim as preventive care under HRSA's Women's Preventive Services Guidelines, and file an internal appeal within 180 days if it says no. On Medicare, a diagnostic mammogram costs 20% of the approved amount after the Part B deductible.
