I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1078 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage 
of comprehensive cancer care planning under the Medicare Program 
and to improve the care furnished to individuals diagnosed with cancer 
by establishing a Medicare hospice care demonstration program and 
grants programs for cancer palliative care and symptom management 
programs, provider education, and related research. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 15, 2007 
Mrs. CAPPS (for herself and Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
for coverage of comprehensive cancer care planning 
under the Medicare Program and to improve the care 
furnished to individuals diagnosed with cancer by estab-
lishing a Medicare hospice care demonstration program 
and grants programs for cancer palliative care and symp-
tom management programs, provider education, and re-
lated research. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act of 2007’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
TITLE I—COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CARE UNDER THE 
MEDICARE PROGRAM 
Sec. 101. Coverage of cancer care planning services. 
Sec. 102. Demonstration project to provide comprehensive cancer care symptom 
management services under Medicare. 
TITLE II—COMPREHENSIVE PALLIATIVE CARE AND SYMPTOM 
MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS 
Sec. 201. Grants for comprehensive palliative care and symptom management 
programs. 
TITLE III—PROVIDER EDUCATION REGARDING PALLIATIVE CARE 
AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT. 
Sec. 301. Grants to improve health professional education. 
Sec. 302. Grants to Improve Continuing Professional Education. 
TITLE IV—RESEARCH ON END-OF-LIFE TOPICS FOR CANCER 
PATIENTS 
Sec. 401. Research program. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Individuals with cancer often do not have 
access to a cancer care system that provides com-
prehensive and coordinated care of high quality. 
(2) The cancer care system has not traditionally 
offered individuals with cancer a prospective and 
comprehensive plan for treatment and symptom 
management, strategies for updating and evaluating 
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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 often becomes more severe at the 
end of life. The failure to treat the symptoms, side 
effects, and late effects of cancer and its treatment 
may have a serious adverse impact on the health, 
well-being, and quality of life of cancer survivors. 
(4) Cancer survivors who are members of racial 
and ethnic minority groups may face special obsta-
cles in receiving cancer care that is coordinated and 
includes appropriate management of cancer symp-
toms and treatment side effects. 
(5) Individuals with cancer are sometimes put 
in the untenable position of choosing between poten-
tially curative therapies and palliative care instead of 
being assured access to comprehensive care that in-
cludes appropriate treatment and symptom manage-
ment. 
(6) Comprehensive cancer care should incor-
porate access to psychosocial services and manage-
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