Arrington Secures Passage of Groundbreaking Cancer Detection Bill

Washington, D.C. - This week, House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) celebrated House passage of his Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act. This monumental legislation ensures multi-cancer early detection (MCED) tests are covered by Medicare in a timely manner upon approval by the Food and Drug Administration. The legislation enjoys broad bipartisan support, in addition to support from outside groups throughout the country and even personnel from the Dallas Cowboys, like quarterback Dak Prescott.

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"I'm proud to announce, alongside my friend Rep. Terri Sewell, that the House just passed our bill - the Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act - which is one of the most consequential and widely supported accomplishments in the fight against cancer in decades," said Chairman Arrington. "This critical legislation will give seniors access to groundbreaking innovation, which will transform how we detect, diagnose, and treat cancer, saving lives and improving outcomes through the power of early detection. This monumental achievement was made possible by a broad, bipartisan coalition committed to putting patients first. I'm grateful to Rep. Terri Sewell for her partnership as we built a team of 338 House cosponsors, 67 Senate supporters, more than 500 advocacy organizations, and voices outside Washington, like Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who helped drive this effort forward. Together, we are delivering real, life-saving services to thousands of Americans while saving taxpayer dollars by catching cancer before it spreads."

"Today, the House took a major bipartisan step toward giving our seniors their best shot at catching cancer early," said Rep. Sewell. "I am overjoyed that the House passed our bipartisan bill, the Nancy Gardner Sewell MCED Act. This critical milestone is years in the making, and was only made possible thanks to the efforts of amazing organizations, survivors, and patient advocates. I am especially grateful to Congressman Arrington for his close partnership and for naming the bill after my mother, the late Nancy Gardner Sewell. I know that she would be immensely proud of the work we are doing to provide greater access early detection cancer screenings. Her legacy will live on in the millions of Americans whose lives will be changed this legislation."

Honoring Nancy Gardner Sewell

Arrington named the legislation in honor of the mother of his Democrat colleague, Rep. Terri Sewell, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2021. Last year, the legislation was passed out of the Ways & Means Committee by a unanimous, bipartisan vote of 38-0.

Dallas Cowboys

Last year, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott paid for the entire team's staff to receive MCED screening, leading to the early detection of Cowboy's Vice President of Communications Tad Carper's cancer in his tonsils - detecting his cancer before any symptoms had appeared. Carper credits the screening with saving his life, and has since advocated for increased accessibility, as seen in his open-letter to Chairman Arrington from November 22, 2024.

"This is critical for so many across our nation. A true game-changing life-saver. I was lucky enough to benefit from the access Dak provided. It shouldn't need to come to that, though," said Tad Carper, Vice President of Communications for the Dallas Cowboys. "You have to step back and ask, why in the world would this not be something that is easily and affordably available to everyone? What are our priorities? Isn't this also creating a great financial savings for all compared to the alternative of catching things late in the game? It is inexcusable for this to be available, yet hitting roadblocks and delays. I applaud the efforts currently being made to save lives and the work being done by leaders like Representative Arrington and others to focus on what is needed."

Dak Prescott's mother, Peggy Prescott, passed away in 2013 from colon cancer that was not diagnosed until it had progressed to stage 4. If it had been available, MCED screening could have potentially saved her life.

"If early detection was easy and available, my mother and so many others would still be alive," said Dak Prescott, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. "The science and technology exist right now to dramatically reduce the impact of cancer and change the story of countless people and families for generations to come. We need this now. There is no acceptable reason for delay. This is literally about life and death, like it was for Tad."

Letters of Support for H.R. 842 from the following organizations:

• Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC)
• Cancer Support Community (CSC)
• Fight Colorectal Cancer
• GO2 for Lung Cancer
• The National Grange
• National Minority Quality Forum Action Network
• Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA)
• Prevent Cancer Foundation (PCF)
• Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts
• Gilda's Club Kansas City

Background:

The Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act would increase seniors' timely access to multi-cancer early detection technology by creating a pathway to Medicare coverage. This bill will allow for Medicare coverage of MCED screenings once they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. These new MCED screening tools will complement existing screenings and dramatically improve our nation's cancer early detection capabilities. Currently, we are only able to commonly screen for five cancers and just 14% of cancers are found through screenings. These tools introduce a significant shift in the cancer screening landscape. Ensuring seniors have timely access is essential since age is the primary risk factor for cancer and more than 70% of cancer diagnoses are in the Medicare population. This legislation will open the door to a new era of detecting and treating cancer while ensuring that our most vulnerable citizens are not left behind.

Specifically, the legislation would:

1. Create the authority for CMS to cover blood-based MCED tests and future test methods once approved by the FDA and shown to have clinical benefit.
2. Maintain CMS' authority to use an evidence-based process to determine coverage parameters for these new tests.
3. Clarify that (1) these new tools will complement, not replace, existing screenings and coverage and (2) cost sharing will not be impacted.

Prior to House passage, Arrington advanced the legislation out of the Ways and Means Committee by a bipartisan, unanimous vote of 43-0.

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