NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On Monday, March 30, the Tennessee House unanimously passed House Bill 0484 that would expand coverage of biomarker testing for patients facing a variety of diseases including cancer.
“ACS CAN applauds the passage of HB0484 in the House and appreciates the bipartisan support. We are especially grateful to sponsoring Rep. Brock Martin, who believes in the game-changing impact this bill would have on the cancer burden of Tennesseans,” American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Tennessee Government Relations Director Maddie Michael said. “In the case of a cancer diagnosis, biomarker testing helps doctors determine the right treatment path, saving some patients from treatments that may not work and waste time. It also helps with the management other diseases, including Alzheimer’s.”
Cancer survivor Stephen Huff of Williamson County has spoken at the legislature about the importance of biomarker testing.
“This is the single most important thing that kept me alive this long,” Huff said of biomarker testing and the targeted treatments it unlocked.
Unfortunately, the Senate companion version of the bill has stalled and is one of dozens awaiting a vote in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, which has not held a meeting since March 10. The Committee was scheduled to vote that day on SB0435, but cut the meeting short. As a result, a cancer patient who had traveled to Nashville that day to testify never got the chance. ACS CAN urges state senators to get back to work and finish the job.
“Lawmakers should see the broad support for biomarker testing access and hear the patient advocates who demand change. There is no reason to deny patients access to testing that could change so many lives,” Michael said.
Tennessee would become the 24th state to pass legislation expanding coverage of biomarker testing, following in the footsteps of neighboring states Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi.