2026 Delaware Legislative Priorities

Victory in the fight against cancer requires bold new public policies that promote cancer prevention, early detection of cancer, and expand access to quality, affordable health care. Lawmakers make many decisions that impact the lives of Delawareans impacted by cancer and their leadership is vital to defeating this disease. In 2026 the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) will work with the Delaware General Assembly and the Meyer-Evans Gay Administration on legislative and regulatory efforts that will protect and provide affordable, adequate access to health insurance including Medicaid, ensure adequate funding for lifesaving cancer screening and prevention programs, and enact prevention policies to protect kids from tobacco products and help support those who are trying to quit. We will be making the following fact-based policies a priority and ask for your support:

Cancer Prevention and Early Detection

• Access to Biomarker Testing: ACS CAN will advocate for improved coverage of comprehensive biomarker testing. Progress in improving cancer outcomes increasingly involves the use of precision medicine, which uses information about a person’s own genes or proteins to prevent, diagnose or treat diseases like cancer. Biomarker testing is an important step to accessing precision medicine which includes targeted therapies that can lead to improved survivorship and better quality of life for cancer patients, but insurance coverage for biomarker testing is failing to keep pace with innovations and advancements in treatment.

• Affordable, Adequate Health Insurance: ACS CAN will advocate policies that ensure access to quality, affordable and comprehensive health insurance including Medicaid. This includes implementing new federal Medicaid provisions such as work reporting requirements and cost-sharing in the least harmful way possible to mitigate coverage losses. ACS CAN will also support efforts to curb the availability of inadequate health plans.

• Breast and Cervical Cancer: ACS CAN will advocate to maintain funding of $1.8027 million for Delaware’s Screening for Life program, the program that offers free screening tests for breast, cervical, colon, lung, and prostate cancer.

Reducing the Toll of Tobacco

• Tobacco Taxes: Increasing tobacco taxes is one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use, especially among kids. ACS CAN will advocate raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.50 and increase the tax on most other tobacco products from 30% of wholesale to 43%. We will oppose any reduction in taxes applied to tobacco products, including any reduction in the cigar tax.

• Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Funding: ACS CAN will work to maintain funding for fact-based, statewide tobacco prevention and cessation programs at $9.9 million.