Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) joined President Joe Biden at the White House as he announced the reigniting of the Cancer Moonshot, an initiative that he led as Vice President in 2016 to accelerate the rate of progress against cancer. Because of recent scientific advances and public health lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, the President announced a goal to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer — and, by doing this and more, end cancer as we know it today. Congresswoman Sewell was invited to join President Biden for today’s announcement because of her continued leadership in the House of Representatives in the fight against cancer, as the lead sponsor of H.R. 1946, the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act.

“The fight against cancer is deeply personal for me as I know it is for President Biden and Americans of every background,” said Rep. Sewell. “I'm thrilled that the President set this ambitious goal and I'm excited to work with this Administration to end cancer as we know it! As the President noted, thanks to extraordinary scientific progress, we have more tools than ever before to prevent, detect, and diagnose cancer. That's why last year, I introduced my Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act to ensure that more Americans can access these life-saving technologies.”

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. However, detecting cancer early can result in less invasive treatments for patients and reduced costs associated with late-stage treatments. Fortunately, scientists are developing and testing innovative blood-based multi-cancer early detection tests that can screen for many cancers at the same time, including rare cancers. The companies engaged in multi-cancer screening have both received breakthrough device designation for their tests and are pursuing FDA approval. Unfortunately, under current law, it could take several years after FDA approval before Medicare beneficiaries could receive coverage for such tests.

Rep. Sewell’s Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act, which she introduced in March 2021, would remove these barriers to access for FDA-approved multi-cancer early detection tests and greatly reduce the amount of time between FDA approval and Medicare coverage, ensuring that more Americans have access to these potentially life-saving technologies.

More than 300 organizations across the country, led by the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and other high-profile leaders in the cancer advocacy community, shared a letter in support of the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act. Local and national patient advocates, healthcare organizations, clinicians, and other stakeholders from all 50 states urged Congress to pass this critical legislation.

For more information about the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act, click here.