ALEXANDRIA, Va. – “Today’s ruling is a significant step backward in the effort to reduce cancer incidence and death. By reversing the now more than decade-long requirement that insurance plans cover proven cancer screenings—including those for breast, colon, and lung—health plans could reinstate cost-sharing and patients could once again be forced to weigh the potentially lifesaving benefit of a doctor-recommended cancer screening against the out-of-pocket costs it may generate. This choice would be especially difficult for limited income populations who already shoulder a disproportionate cancer burden and would only serve to widen health disparities.

Cancer care providers nationwide would surely see the negative effects of later-stage diagnosis and poorer long-term outcomes should this ruling be upheld. If we as a nation are going to achieve the goals of ending cancer as we know it, we need to ensure people have easy, affordable access to critical cancer screenings. 

ASCO urges the government to quickly appeal this ruling and reaffirm critical cancer screening coverage for all those at risk of the disease.”