HB1406, titled the Lung Cancer Screening and Prevention Act of 2025, would amend the Medicare statute to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to cover additional lung cancer screening tests as preventive services under Part B. The bill goes beyond the existing Medicare coverage pathway for lung cancer screening by expressly authorizing coverage of other FDA-cleared or FDA-approved screening tests, so long as they are furnished to appropriate individuals as determined by the Secretary.
The bill also directs that coverage decisions for these additional tests be made through the national coverage determination process, while removing one specific statutory requirement that otherwise applies in that process. In doing so, it preserves the Secretary’s ability to consult with expert entities on preventive services and to set frequency and payment limits as appropriate. The amendments would take effect immediately upon enactment and apply to Medicare Part B preventive services coverage on or after that date.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would amend section 1834(n) of the Social Security Act and expand the Medicare program’s authority to cover a broader set of lung cancer screening technologies. It would affect Medicare beneficiaries, providers, and manufacturers of FDA-cleared or approved screening tests by potentially increasing access to screening and creating a pathway for new tests to receive coverage as preventive services. The bill would not mandate coverage of every new test, but it would give CMS explicit authority to consider and cover them under Medicare Part B.
Sentiment
The available context suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill, as reflected by bipartisan sponsorship from members of both parties and the bill’s preventive-care framing. There are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided material, so there is no evidence of formal opposition or amendment debate in the available record. Overall, the bill appears to be presented as a public health measure aimed at improving early detection of lung cancer.
Contention
The main policy issue embedded in the bill is how much discretion the Secretary of Health and Human Services should have in determining which additional lung cancer screening tests Medicare will cover and under what conditions. Another possible point of contention is the bill’s modification of the national coverage determination process, including the removal of a specific statutory requirement tied to that process. Because no committee discussion or votes are provided, no member-specific objections or competing viewpoints are documented in the record supplied here.