U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, celebrated Wednesday as her legislation to ensure seniors’ access to cutting-edge cancer screenings cleared a key hurdle. HR842, the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection, MCED, Screening Coverage Act, passed unanimously in the House Ways and Means Committee by a bipartisan vote of 43 to 0, and was referred to the full House for a vote.
“Today, we are one giant step closer to enacting the Nancy Gardner Sewell Multi-Cancer Early Detection Act and giving our seniors the best chance at catching cancer early,” Sewell said. “The fact that our bill passed unanimously in the Ways and Means Committee less than 24 hours after Cancer Advocacy Day is a testament to its strong, bipartisan momentum and its potential to save countless lives. Cancer knows no political party, and I’m proud of the bipartisan efforts of the Ways and Means Committee to advance this bill.”
“While my mother is no longer with us, I know that she is smiling down from Heaven,” continued Sewell. “The legacy of Nancy Gardner Sewell will live on in the millions of Americans whose lives will be changed by this legislation. I look forward to harnessing our momentum to get this bill across the finish line.”
“Today, the Ways and Means Committee unanimously advanced my bipartisan Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act,” said House Budget Chairman and lead Republican sponsor Representative Jodey Arrington, R-Texas. “This critical legislation will give seniors access to groundbreaking innovation that will transform the way we treat, diagnose, and prevent cancer. With over 300 cosponsors in the House, 60 in the Senate, over 500 organizations and even Cowboys QB Dak Prescott supporting it, we are closer than ever to unleashing the power of early detection and saving millions of lives.”
HR842, the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare MCED Screening Coverage Act, would create a pathway for Medicare to cover emerging diagnostic tools, once FDA-approved, which hold the promise of screening for up to 40 cancers with a simple blood test. The bill enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support, with 305 House co-sponsors and 62 Senate co-sponsors. It is backed by more than 600 patient advocate organizations across the nation.
In the 118th Congress, the bill’s lead Republican sponsor, Arrington, renamed the bill in honor of Sewell’s late mother, Nancy Gardner Sewell, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in June 2021. September 16 was Nancy Gardner Sewell’s 86th birthday.
Passage of HR842 in the Ways and Means Committee comes one day after more than 700 cancer advocates from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, ACS CAN, representing every state and all 435 congressional districts, met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to raise awareness of the urgent need for policies that improve cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, and patient support. Enacting H.R. 842 is among the organization’s top legislative priorities.
On Thursday, September 18, HR842 will be considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which shares jurisdiction over our nation’s health care system with the Committee on Ways and Means.
