U.S. Sens. Tina Smith, Jerry Moran Reintroduce Bill to Make Life-saving Oral Cancer Medications More Affordable

Today, U.S. Sens. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) took steps to bring down health care costs for cancer patients by reintroducing their bipartisan bill to make sure oral cancer drugs are covered in the same way as traditional intravenous (IV) chemotherapy.

Currently, over 40 states—including both Minnesota and Kansas—and the District of Columbia have passed “oral parity” laws that stop insurers from charging more for prescribed oral cancer medicine than traditional (IV) chemotherapy. Sens. Smith and Moran’s Cancer Drug Parity Act would build on this work by expanding these protections at the federal level.

“Advances in cancer treatment have made it possible for Americans to get life-saving oral cancer medication. This means people can now take the life-saving medicine they need without having to leave their homes, and in a far less intrusive way than traditional IV chemotherapy,” said Sen. Smith. “But since oral cancer medications are self-administered, many people are having to shell out more dollars because this medication isn’t covered the same way as IV treatments. I’m reintroducing my bipartisan bill with Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas to put a stop to charging more for oral cancer drugs because we should be doing all we can to make life-saving cancer treatment more affordable for all Americans.”

Read press release here