Katherine’s Lung Cancer Early Detection and Survival Act of 2021
Bill: S.1966 | Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina (D-MN)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Katherine's Lung Cancer Early Detection and Survival Act of 2021
This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover, without cost sharing, screenings for the detection of lung cancer for certain high-risk individuals.

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Katherine's Lung Cancer Early 
Detection and Survival Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Lung cancer is the number 1 killer of all cancers.
            (2) Lung cancer causes more deaths than prostate cancer, 
        breast cancer, and colorectal cancer combined.
            (3) The reason for the extremely low 5-year survival rate 
        in lung cancer patients is the difficulty to find it at early 
        stages (as patients have no symptoms at early stages).
            (4) For all stages of lung cancer, the overall 5-year 
        survival rate is 19 percent, while such rate is 98 percent for 
        prostate cancer and 90 percent for breast cancer.
            (5) Early detection of lung cancer through screening could 
        dramatically increase survival rates for patients.

SEC. 3. REQUIRING COVERAGE OF LUNG CANCER SCREENINGS FOR CERTAIN 
              INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT COST SHARING.

    (a) In General.--Section 2713 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300gg-13) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting a semicolon;
                    (C) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and'';
                    (D) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph 
                (6); and
                    (E) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following 
                new paragraph:
            ``(5) lung cancer screenings, with respect to any 
        individual who has a very high risk of lung cancer due to 
        genetic, occupational, or other exposures and who has a 
        referral from a specialist, such as a pulmonary medicine 
        physician, who can explain the benefits and harms of the 
        screening to the individual, including determination of lung 
        cancer risk; and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Special Rule for Certain Lung Cancer Screenings.--In the case 
of a lung cancer screening that would be a service described in 
subsection (a)(1) but for the fact that the individual receiving the 
screening stopped smoking more than 15 years prior to the date of the 
screening or is 80 years of age or older as of such date, such 
screening shall be deemed to be a service described in such 
subsection.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2022.
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