Cancer Treatment: Equalizing Costs for Pills and IV Drugs
A senate committee must act next: committee consideration.
This bill has support from both parties and addresses a major healthcare cost issue, but it must still pass through committees and may face pushback from insurance companies.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Small employers that sponsor group health plans could see modest cost or administrative changes if their insurers adjust premiums to account for equalized cost-sharing on oral cancer drugs. The bill does not require employers to add new benefits, only to equalize cost-sharing where anticancer coverage already exists.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) reintroduced the Cancer Drug Parity Act to ensure oral anticancer therapies are covered on par with intravenous medications, allowing treatment decisions to be driven by clinical needs rather than financial constraints.
Advocates are calling on Congress to pass the Cancer Drug Parity Act (H.R. 4101/S. 5004) to ensure patients aren't forced to pay more because their treatment comes in a pill instead of an infusion. The bill aims to close the cost gap for federally regulated health plans.
Representative Gus Bilirakis highlighted the Cancer Drug Parity Act as a practical step toward making cancer treatment more affordable and accessible for patients and families by requiring health insurers to provide coverage for oral treatments equivalent to IV treatments.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Cancer Drug Parity Act of 2026
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