The Trump administration is making it more difficult for veterans with rare but deadly cancers to get their medical needs covered by the government. The new policy regarding male breast cancer is described in a Department of Veterans Affairs memo obtained by ProPublica.
The evolving science is not mentioned in the previously private document. Rather, it relies on an order issued by President Donald Trump on his first day in office entitled “Protecting Women from Gender Ideological Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
A spokesperson for the agency confirmed the change.
“As of September 30, the department has no medical-related concerns for male breast cancer,” Press Secretary Pete Kasperowich said in a statement to ProPublica. He noted that veterans who previously had coverage status can keep it.
But for the approximately 100 male veterans who are newly diagnosed each year, the road will be even tougher. They must prove that their cancer is related to military service, a burden often difficult to meet.
Without VA coverage, experts say treatment for veterans could be delayed or missed entirely, even though research shows breast cancer rates are increasing in men and the disease is more deadly than in women. One study also found that the incidence of breast cancer in men was “significantly higher among military veterans.”
“Cancer in male veterans should be covered,” said Dr. Anita Agarwal, a veteran oncologist who researched and treated breast cancer for years before recently retiring. “These people are risking their lives for us.”
As Agarwal pointed out, male and female breast tissues are similar. “Male breasts don’t produce milk,” says Agarwal. “But the treatment is the same.” Studies have linked breast cancer to exposure to toxic substances, she added.
The administration’s new policy repeals benefits created under the Comprehensive Toxic Substances Control Commitment Act (PACT Act), the Biden-era law that ushered in the largest expansion of health care and benefits for veterans in history.
After a long fight by advocates, Congressional Democrats and Republicans passed the bill three years ago to make it easier for veterans poisoned with defoliants and other toxic substances to receive benefits.
Before this law was enacted, the Veterans Administration frequently denied claims. Now, the government will presume that many illnesses are related to a veteran’s military service, as long as the veteran serves in a particular area and has any number of illnesses listed on the VA list.
As a result, more than 200,000 veterans who may have been exposed to toxic substances while on duty are now eligible for treatment.
The Trump administration’s changes mean male veterans with breast cancer will no longer benefit from that easy coverage.
Veterans with breast cancer said they were shocked and confused by the move.
Jacques Gellman, 80, a former Navy fighter pilot who served in Vietnam, is already faced with the fact that her breast cancer, which had been dormant for a long time, returned last year. Now he has to deal with the fact that the government is making it even more difficult to cover his treatment.
When informed of the change by ProPublica, Gellman repeatedly said he was “surprised.” “This is truly awful and it is discouraging to the very small number of people who should be concerned.”
Other veterans echoed this sentiment. Kirby Lewis, who was diagnosed with breast cancer about 12 years ago and is now at stage 4, said: “I don’t care if it’s toenail cancer or not. If you get it, you should take care of those people.”
Lewis, who served in the Navy for five years in the 1980s, isn’t worried about losing his Veterans Affairs insurance as a result of an unrelated heart condition. But he said the government’s decision risked further stigmatizing men with the disease.
“They don’t want to admit that we have breasts, but there’s a mechanistic side to us that we have breasts,” Lewis said, calling the decision “very upsetting.”
Flags, portholes and color bars are some of the items Lewis has on display in his home from his time in the Navy. Greg Kern, ProPublica
The PACT Act gives the administration broad discretion to cover diseases as science advances. The Department of Veterans Affairs added three cancers last year, including breast cancer in men.
The law specifies that “all types of reproductive cancer” are covered. The agency added male breast cancer to that category after a working group of experts reviewed the science. The judgment noted the “remarkable similarities between male and female breast cancer.”
The Trump administration memo claims the designation is a mistake. “The Biden administration has incorrectly classified male breasts as reproductive organs,” Kasperovich said in a statement to ProPublica.
A former official involved in last year’s VA decision said that although there was debate about how to interpret “reproductive cancer,” the scientific consensus among VA oncologists was clear. “Evidence showed that male and female breast tissue responded similarly to exposure to toxic substances and shared nearly identical biological and mutational profiles,” the former official said on condition of anonymity. “Expanding coverage for male breast cancer was the right decision.”
Rosie Torres, who advocated for the PACT Act after her husband became ill, said the current administration is putting politics ahead of patriotism and the people. “It doesn’t matter who signed the bill,” Torres said of Biden. “If you don’t like the word ‘reproduction’, put it in a different category. Don’t delete it. These are people’s lives.”
Kasperovich emphasized that even veterans can receive coverage as long as they can show that their illness is related to their service.
“The department has and will continue to honor claims for disability benefits on an individual basis for male veterans with breast cancer,” he said in a statement. “The Department of Veterans Affairs encourages male veterans with breast cancer who feel their health may have been affected by military service to file a disability claim.”
The changes follow broader turmoil at the Veterans Administration, where tens of thousands of employees have left amid plummeting morale and work orders that include returning to offices.
Commissioner Doug Collins has long maintained that health care will not be affected. “Veterans benefits have not been cut,” Collins said in February. “In fact, we are actually delivering and improving the service.”
Advocates and Democrats say they are concerned that the reduction in presumptive coverage for male breast cancer could presage broader cuts. This year, House Republicans passed a bill that would reduce funding for veterans covered by the PACT Act, but House Republicans have criticized it for a lack of oversight. This bill has not been passed by the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s conservative blueprint initiative, Project 2025, is calling on officials to cut benefits or, in the initiative’s words, “seek significant cost savings by revising disability ratings.”
The Trump administration has not done that so far. ProPublica asked the Veterans Administration if it plans to change coverage beyond male breast cancer.
The ministry did not respond.
ProPublica wants to hear from recently retired doctors, nurses and other front-line health care providers at VA hospitals and clinics.
