The House Subcommittee on Insurance and Banking this week voted 6 to 4 in favor of the Cancer Treatment Fairness Act, HB1059/SB0922.
Subcommittee members supporting the bill included Subcommittee Chairman Kelly Keisling (R-Byrdstown), Reps. Timothy Hill (R-Blountville), Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro), Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro), and Joe Towns (D-Memphis).
The legislation aims to reduce barriers to access for cancer patients and would mean that the patient cost share would be more aligned regardless of whether chemotherapy treatment is administered intravenously or orally. The bill is not a mandate and does not create a new insurance benefit.
Officials said, "In Tennessee, outdated insurance policies are making it difficult and sometimes impossible for cancer patients to receive the treatment their doctors determine to be the best option."
Tennessee is only one of eight states that does not equalize the patient cost for receiving anti-cancer medication like chemotherapy, regardless of whether it is delivered orally or intravenously. This prevents cancer patients from taking full advantage of today’s innovative medical advancements.
Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and Rep. William Lamberth (R-Cottontown) are sponsors of the bill.
“We are very grateful to Sen. Ketron and Rep. Lamberth for their tireless support and commitment to this issue and the thousands of cancer patients, their care givers and loved ones across the state,” Jeff Parsley, executive director of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) Tennessee Chapter, said.
Oral anti-cancer medications, which are often available in a pill form, can have fewer side effects than traditional therapies. More than 25 percent of new anti-cancer treatments in the research pipeline are in oral form, making patient-administered therapies an increasingly important component of cancer treatment. For a number of cancers, oral anti-cancer medications are actually already the standard of care with no treatment alternatives.
Traditional treatments, usually given through an IV or injection, are covered under a patient’s medical benefits resulting in a small co-pay or no cost at all. Oral treatments are usually part of the health plan’s pharmacy benefit and result in high out-of-pocket costs for patients. This disparity can negatively impact patients taking their medication as prescribed.
The LLS leads a coalition of stakeholders that strongly supports the legislation and are grateful for the efforts of prime sponsors Sen. Ketron and Rep. Lamberth along with co-sponsors Sens. Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), Ed Jackson (R-Jackson), Steve Dickerson (R-Nashville), Becky Massey (R-Knoxville), Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville), Ken Yager (R-Kingston), Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin) and Reps. Glen Casada (R-Franklin), Mary Littleton (R-Dickson), Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro), Sabi Kumar (R-Springfield), Kevin Brooks (R-Cleveland), Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro), Gerald McCormick (R-Chattanooga), Mark White (R-Memphis), Sheila Butt (R-Columbia), Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville), Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), Karen Camper (D-Memphis), Roger Kane (R-Knoxville) and Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley), Kent Calfee (R-Kingston), Dale Carr (R-Sevierville), Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville), Patsy Hazlewood, (R-Signal Mountain), Gary Hicks (R-Rogersville), Matthew Hill (R-Jonesborough), Timothy Hill (R-Blountville), Curtis Johnson (R-Clarksville), Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), Mike Stewart (D-Nashville), Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro), Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville), Art Swann (R-Maryville), Darren Jernigan (D-Old Hickory), Jason Powell (D-Nashville), Bob Ramsey (R-Maryville), and Mark Pody (R-Lebanon).