Rep. Boyle & Sen. Smith Press to Expand Coverage For Lung Cancer Screenings to Detect Cancer Earlier, Save Lives

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02) and U.S. Senator Tina Smith (MN) reintroduced bicameral legislation to expand coverage for lung cancer screenings to help detect cancer in more patients earlier and to save more lives. The legislation would require commercial health plans to cover lung cancer screenings for high risk individuals, regardless of smoking history, at no cost to the patient so long as they have a recommendation from their doctor. The legislation also removes arbitrary barriers so that individuals aged 80 and older and individuals who quit smoking more than 15 years ago can access free lung cancer screenings.

Right now, the law only requires coverage of free lung cancer screening for individuals from ages 50 to 80 who currently smoke or have quit smoking within the past 15 years. However, data shows that non-smoking populations also have high rates of lung cancer. And too often lung cancer is diagnosed late, when the disease is already at an advanced state.

Rep. Boyle and Sen. Smith's legislation—Katherine's Lung Cancer Early Detection and Survival Act—is named in honor of Minnesotan Katherine Bensen, who passed away after a courageous fight against stage 4 non-smoking, non-small cell lung cancer. Katherine is a daughter of former Minnesota U.S. Representative Rick Nolan.

The lawmakers say that lung cancer is the number one cancer killer among men and women in America.

"Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among Americans," said Rep. Boyle. "This updated version of Katherine's Law would remove several arbitrary barriers currently keeping lung cancer patients from accessing proper screening and treatment. Removing these bureaucratic barriers will open the door to medical treatments that can save lives. This bill is backed by the medical community, lung cancer screening experts, and grassroots patient advocates. It's time for Congress to protect those who are at risk of lung cancer, and I'm proud to lead this effort with Sen. Smith and my former colleague Congressman Nolan."

"We need to take every possible step to fight this terrible scourge that is hurting so many of our loved ones," said Sen. Smith, a member of the Senate Health Committee. "Expanding coverage for lung cancer screenings for more individuals could help detect the cancer earlier and save lives. This legislation is named in honor of Katherine Bensen, who was the definition of courage and strength throughout her struggle with cancer. I send every person who is fighting lung cancer my love and support."

"We are thrilled to have contributed to the development of legislation that removes arbitrary screening limitations for the many people who remain at high risk for lung cancer – a long sought goal of GO2 Foundation," said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, Co-Founder, President & CEO of GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer.

"The reintroduction of this bi-partisan legislation represents a significant step forward in fighting the deadliest cancer in the United States. We applaud Congressman Boyle for reintroducing this bill to increase lung cancer screening eligibility for more high-risk individuals. Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in the United States, and in 2021, it is estimated that over 131,000 Americans will die from lung cancer. Expanding screening eligibility through this legislation will save many more American lives. Thank you, Congressman Boyle, for your efforts to increase access to screening for many more Americans at risk of developing lung cancer" said Dr. Chi-Fu Jeffrey Yang, Thoracic Surgeon at Harvard Medical School and Founder of the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative.

You can read a summary of the bill here and bill text here.