To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require a group health plan (or health insurance coverage offered in connection with such a plan) to provide for cost-sharing for oral anticancer drugs on terms no less favorable than the cost-sharing provided for anticancer medications administered by a health care provider.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · June 15, 2023
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
The Cancer Drug Parity Act of 2023 requires employer health plans to charge patients the same out-of-pocket costs for oral cancer medications as they do for cancer drugs administered by doctors through injection or infusion. Currently, many insurance plans charge higher copayments and deductibles for oral cancer drugs, which can discourage patients from using these convenient medications. The bill applies to all group health plans covered under federal employee benefits rules and takes effect for plan years beginning January 1, 2024. Insurance companies can still use standard cost-control measures like prior authorization but cannot increase overall costs for cancer drugs or place greater restrictions on oral medications to comply with this requirement. The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office to study the law's effects within two years and report back to Congress on whether it successfully reduces financial barriers to accessing oral cancer medications.
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