The U.S. Senate passed an amendment to the proposed health care reform Thursday that will require all health care plans to cover mammograms and other preventive services for women under 50 at no cost.

The Senate vote was 61 to 39, with three Republicans and two Independents joining 56 Democrats for the affirmative vote.

This victory has been closely followed by a second advance for women’s health in relation to the health care reform ‘- a provision failed Tuesday that would have restricted coverage of abortion from plans receiving any public funding, including those partially privately paid.

The mammogram amendment, proposed by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., is the first to pass for the health care bill in the Senate, though it is not part of the already-passed House of Representatives bill. The reform President Barack Obama ultimately signs off on will include elements of both bills.

‘The Senate approved my amendment today, but with votes on the final legislation ahead, the fight’s not over yet,’ Mikulski said in a press release. ‘Women can count on me to keep fighting for them on the Senate floor and all the way to the White House to end punitive insurance company practices that treat simply being a woman as a pre-existing condition.’

If the health care bill passes with the amendment, female students and staff at Boston University will have the opportunity to be screened for breast cancer and similar issues with the fee waived by their insurance companies.

It is recommended for women to get mammograms every three years before the age of 40; after this age, a mammogram should be completed once every one to two years, according to the American Cancer Society. Most women who have a family history of breast cancer should begin screenings as early as their 21st birthday.

BU staff and students said the amendment will hopefully be a catalyst to encourage women of all ages to begin a habit of cancer prevention through scheduled mammograms.

BU School of Medicine affiliates unanimously agreed the Mikulski amendment will be beneficial if ultimately passed.

‘Obviously, I think it’s a good thing,’ Regina Fox, a clinical research nurse at the Boston Medical Center said. ‘It would help for tumor responses.’

‘ She also said BMC has a mammogram screening day for the public.

‘ Robin Skinner, an administrative assistant at the BMC Office of Hematology and Medical Oncology, said he had experience working large-scale screenings and thought the amendment would be helpful.

‘I think it’s a great thing for people that can’t pay for it on their own,’ he said.

Skinner said women definitely take advantage of screenings.

‘ ‘Over 300 people come through the door when we do a screening, all age groups, from young teenagers to senior citizens,’ he said.

‘ College of Communication senior Stephanie Sanata said her grandmother died of breast cancer and she thinks the amendment’s passing is a great advance for women’s health.

‘I think [getting mammograms] is a very great way to prevent [breast cancer] from happening and it’s something that has been known to be effective,’ she said. ‘Since it runs in my family, I will probably have to get a mammogram before I turn 30.’

‘ COM sophomore Shoshana Levine said though mammograms are not a pain-free process, they are important.

‘ ‘With mammograms, it matters how soon you get one,’ she said. ‘I think it’s important to get free ones because you can find the cancer years in advance, before it can affect your life.’