I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2477 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage 
of cancer care planning and coordination under the Medicare program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2013 
Mrs. CAPPS (for herself and Mr. BOUSTANY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
for coverage of cancer care planning and coordination 
under the Medicare program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Planning Actively for Cancer Treatment (PACT) Act of 
2013’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
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(1) Individuals with cancer often do not have 
access to a cancer care system that incorporates 
shared decision-making and the coordination of all 
elements of care. 
(2) The cancer care system has not traditionally 
offered individuals with cancer a shared decision- 
making process, a prospective and comprehensive 
plan for treatment, symptom management and sup-
portive care, strategies for updating and evaluating 
such plan with the assistance of a health care pro-
fessional, and a follow-up plan for monitoring and 
treating possible late effects of cancer and its treat-
ment. 
(3) Cancer survivors often experience the 
under-diagnosis and under-treatment of the symp-
toms of cancer, a problem that begins at the time 
of diagnosis and may become more severe with dis-
ease progression and at the end of life. The failure 
to treat the symptoms, side effects, and late effects 
of cancer and cancer treatment may have a serious 
adverse impact on the health, survival, well-being, 
and quality of life of cancer survivors. 
(4) The 1999 Institute of Medicine report enti-
tled ‘‘The Unequal Burden of Cancer’’ found that 
low-income people often lack access to adequate can-
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cer care and that ethnic minorities have not bene-
fitted fully from cancer treatment advances. 
(5) Individuals with cancer often do not partici-
pate in a shared decision-making process that con-
siders all treatment options and do not benefit from 
coordination of all elements of active treatment and 
palliative care. 
(6) Quality cancer care should incorporate ac-
cess to psychosocial services and management of the 
symptoms of cancer and the symptoms of cancer 
treatment, including pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, 
and depression. 
(7) Quality cancer care should include a means 
for engaging cancer survivors in a shared decision- 
making process that produces a comprehensive care 
summary and a plan for follow-up care after primary 
treatment to ensure that cancer survivors have ac-
cess to follow-up monitoring and treatment of pos-
sible late effects of cancer and cancer treatment, in-
cluding appropriate psychosocial services. 
(8) The Institute of Medicine report entitled 
‘‘Ensuring Quality Cancer Care’’ described the ele-
ments of quality care for an individual with cancer 
to include— 
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