Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) Statement on Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act of 2021

Last week, a bipartisan coalition of U.S. Senators introduced the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act of 2021 (S. 1873), an essential step in making the latest cancer screening technologies available to clinicians and their patients. The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) thanks Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Tim Scott (R-SC) for their leadership in introducing this essential piece of legislation, that holds the potential to save countless lives. This legislation would ensure that Medicare beneficiaries would be able to access potentially lifesaving cancer screening technologies like multi-cancer early detection (MCED) technology. We are grateful to leaders in Congress who are advancing the mission of ACCC and others in this country's 50-year-old “War on Cancer.”

The Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act of 2021 will allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to cover MCED tests once approved by the Food and Drug Administration. As the leading education and advocacy organization for the cancer care community, ACCC recognizes that our members are treating an increasing number of  Americans with late-stage cancer diagnoses. We believe this legislation will help patients and providers access the necessary technologies to detect cancer earlier. MCED technologies will be especially important in helping address the challenges to access that underserved populations and communities experience, including those in rural areas of the country as well as racial and ethnic minorities.

Last month we joined over 300 organizations representing all 50 states, led by the Prevent Cancer Foundation, in supporting this legislation. We strongly encourage Congress to pass the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act of 2021 so that healthcare providers can utilize the newest innovations at their disposal once approved by the FDA and save more lives.

ACCC represents 28,000 multidisciplinary practitioners from more than 2,100 cancer programs and practices across the United States.

Please contact Christian G. Downs, JD, MHA, ACCC Executive Director, at 301.984.9496 or cdowns@accc-cancer.org with questions.