- STS is advocating for enhanced patient access to lung cancer screenings and treatment.
- Collaboration with key members of Congress and external stakeholders is key to success.
- STS recently endorsed federal legislation to remove barriers to lung cancer screenings and improve access nationwide.
Access to lung cancer prevention tools, screening, and treatment was established as an STS priority in the 2023 Advocacy Agenda. After talking with numerous lung and cancer community stakeholders, STS recently endorsed and is actively working to advance several key bills in Congress focused on this issue.
Enhancing Medicaid Coverage
The Increasing Access to Lung Cancer Screening Act (H.R. 4286) is a bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Brian Higgins (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Kathy Castor (D-FL). This legislation would require all state Medicaid programs to cover lung cancer screening for eligible enrollees as recommended by the Preventive Services Task Force, expand coverage for tobacco cessation, and prohibit payers from subjecting screening to prior authorization.
Nearly 60 STS members from across the country will request support for this legislation from their members of Congress during the upcoming Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC on October 17–18. This bill was selected because it would have the most direct impact on coverage for STS members and their patients and is broadly supported by the lung cancer community.
Enhancing Woman’s Access to Lung Cancer Screenings
The Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act (S. 2245/H.R. 4534) is a bipartisan bill introduced by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). This bill calls on the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Defense, and Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct and interagency review to evaluate research on women and lung cancer, improve access for women to lung cancer screenings, and conduct public awareness campaigns on lung cancer.
Rep. Brendan Boyle has introduced this bill previously and STS last supported it in 2019. When it came time to introduce the bill for the current session of Congress, Rep. Boyle and his staff asked STS personally for our endorsement. We have also engaged with other stakeholders on this bill, including signing a coalition letter of support led by GO2 For Lung Cancer, which will be published soon.
Multi-Cancer Early Detection
Currently, lung cancer screening is only reimbursed for Medicare beneficiaries who are considered high-risk individuals. The Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act (S. 2085/ H.R. 2407), would ensure that all Medicare beneficiaries have access to early cancer detection through multi-cancer screenings, which have the potential to find more than one type of cancer from a single sample of blood. This bill would extend the benefits of early lung cancer detection to more Americans, which should improve survival rates for people with lung cancer and reduce treatment costs.
STS formally endorsed this legislation in June, and since that time, it has continued to gain momentum in Congress. As of today, the House bill has 88 Democratic cosponsors and 80 Republican cosponsors. In the Senate, it has 10 Democratic cosponsors and 15 Republican cosponsors.
Future Opportunities
Recently several congressional delegations have secured additional funding for new or upgraded computed tomography (CT) equipment and mobile lung cancer screening units for their communities. If you are interested in learning more about requesting funding opportunities for your local institution, please reach out to Haley Brown at hbrown@sts.org.