Cancer Support Community Applauds Inclusion of Medicare Coverage for Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Tests in Year-End Health Care Package
Nonprofit’s leadership urges passage of this health care bill in Congress.
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 18, 2024 — At the Cancer Support Community (CSC), we are committed to breaking down barriers to cancer care for individuals coping with this devastating diagnosis. The Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act, H.R. 2407 / S. 2085 (Nancy Gardner Sewell), would create a new coverage pathway, giving people on Medicare access to new, breakthrough screening technologies that detect cancer. This bipartisan bill would modernize Medicare to allow for coverage of blood-based multi-cancer early detection tests and future screening test technologies, such as urine, stool, or hair tests, once they are approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The creation of new cancer screening tests is the first step toward saving more lives by detecting cancer that currently do not have screening tests. People must be able to access, afford, and benefit from them.
Ahead of the upcoming vote on the package, CSC’s senior leadership released the following statements:
“Through our work supporting hundreds of thousands of patients across the country, we’ve seen firsthand the impact of late-stage diagnoses and that is why we are so encouraged by the leadership Congress has shown in putting forward the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act (H.R. 2407) / the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act (S. 2085) for a vote this week,” said Sally Werner, CSC’s CEO. “We proudly stand alongside other cancer advocacy organizations in support of this legislation.”
Daneen Sekoni, CSC’s Vice President of Policy & Advocacy, added: “Establishing a strong foundation for Medicare coverage of tools that can detect more cancers is essential to changing the experience of cancer for so many in this country. When Congress ensured coverage pathways for tools like mammography and colonoscopies, it saved countless lives. MCED has the potential to do the same. We strongly support congressional leadership’s commitment to cancer detection, and we are urging passage of this bipartisan legislative package this week.”
About the Cancer Support Community
The Cancer Support Community is a global nonprofit that uplifts and strengthens people impacted by cancer. We are dedicated to fostering a community where people find connection, compassion, and knowledge. We provide professionally led support and navigation services, along with social connections and award-winning education — when, where and how impacted individuals prefer throughout their cancer experience. These resources are available at 196 Cancer Support Community, Gilda’s Club, and healthcare partner locations as well as online and over the phone — all at no cost. We amplify the voices of those impacted by cancer through research and advocacy and create solutions that break down barriers to care and close the healthcare gap for communities whose members are disproportionately affected by cancer.
