I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3749 

To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to expand the 

availability of coverage for lung cancer screenings without the imposition 

of cost sharing. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 8, 2021 

Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. DESAULNIER, and 

Mr. LOWENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act 

to expand the availability of coverage for lung cancer 

screenings without the imposition of cost sharing. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Katherine’s Law for 

5 Lung Cancer Early Detection and Survival Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Lung cancer is the number 1 killer of all 

9 cancers. 


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1 (2) Lung cancer causes more deaths than pros2 tate cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer 

3 combined. 

4 (3) The reason for the extremely low 5-year 

5 survival rate in lung cancer patients is the difficulty 

6 to find it at early stages (as patients have no symp7 toms at early stages). 

8 (4) For all stages of lung cancer, the overall 5- 

9 year survival rate is 19 percent, while such rate is 

10 98 percent for prostate cancer and 90 percent for 

11 breast cancer (all stages). 

12 (5) Early detection of lung cancer through 

13 screening could dramatically increase survival rates 

14 for patients. 

15 SEC. 3. EXPANDING THE AVAILABILITY OF COVERAGE FOR 

16 LUNG CANCER SCREENINGS WITHOUT THE 

17 IMPOSITION OF COST SHARING. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2713 of the Public Health 

19 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–13) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

22 the end; 

23 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe24 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe2 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

3 (D) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

4 paragraph (6); and 

5 (E) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

6 following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(5) lung cancer screenings, in addition to any 

8 coverage for such screenings provided pursuant to 

9 paragraph (1), for individuals who have a high risk 

10 of lung cancer due to genetic, occupational, family 

11 history, or other exposures and who has a referral 

12 from a specialist (such as a pulmonary medicine 

13 physician), provided that such specialist explains the 

14 benefits and harms of such screenings and the indi15 vidual’s risk of lung cancer.’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub17 section: 

18 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN LUNG CANCER

19 SCREENINGS.—In the case of a lung cancer screening fur20 nished to an individual that would be a service described 

21 under subsection (a)(1) but for the fact that the individual 

22 stopped smoking more than 15 years prior to the date of 

23 such screening or is 80 years of age or older as of such 

24 date, such screening shall be deemed to be a service so 

25 described under such subsection.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to plan years begin3 ning on or after January 1, 2022. 

Æ 


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