S. 5052 — Lainie Jones Comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Act of 2026

This section provides the short title of the Act as the “Lainie Jones Comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Act of 2026” and sets out its table of contents.

This section states findings on cancer survivors, noting there are approximately 18,000,000 such individuals in the United States, projected to reach 26,000,000 by 2040. It highlights persistent emotional, psychological, neurological, financial, and physical challenges after treatment; disparities in outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities, lower-income individuals, and rural residents; and the particular risks for child, adolescent, and young adult survivors, up to 80 percent of whom face severe or fatal conditions by age 50. It also notes the lack of consensus on the scope and start of survivorship care and the need for coordinated federal, state, and local programs.

This section defines terms used in the Act, including cancer survivor as an individual from diagnosis through the balance of life; caregiver as a family member, friend, or other person caring for someone with a chronic or disabling condition; patient experience data covering symptoms, condition impacts, treatment experiences, and patient preferences; psychosocial effects and psychosocial care; survivorship from diagnosis through end of life; survivorship care plan; survivorship navigation; and treatment summary.

This section adds cancer care planning and coordination services to Medicare-covered medical and other health services. It defines the services as development of a written or electronic treatment plan by a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner that incorporates all Institute of Medicine Care Management Plan components and accounts for cultural and linguistic needs. The services may be furnished at diagnosis, changes in condition or preferences, end of active treatment, and recurrence, with initial payment rates under the physician fee schedule set at the level for transitional care management services (CPT code 99496), effective the first day of the first calendar year after enactment.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene a stakeholder meeting, including representatives of patient advocacy organizations, medical professional societies, electronic health record vendors, and the HHS Office for Civil Rights, to evaluate strategies and information technology tools for improving transitions from active cancer treatment to long-term survivorship care. It requires the Secretary to publish, within 36 months of enactment, information resources for patients and providers on developing personalized survivorship care plans, including recommendations on patient use of software applications.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop, within one year of enactment, an alternative payment model for Medicare and Medicaid payments covering cancer survivorship care items and services. The Secretary must then report to Congress on the model’s entry triggers, participation length or episode duration, survivorship care plans, navigation services, bundled payments, follow-up screenings, shared decision-making, eligible providers including genetic counselors and mental health professionals, risk-stratified pathways, care coordination, social determinants of health strategies, prevention and research promotion, variations by cancer type and stage, and a testing plan.

This section establishes a cancer survivor employment assistance program under which the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, awards grants to nonprofit organizations and other entities to provide education, career and training services, and supportive services to eligible cancer survivors facing barriers to employment and their families and caregivers. The program covers survivors who remain in the workforce during treatment, reduce hours, reenter after treatment, or leave the workforce due to diagnosis, and includes transportation, childcare, nutritional, psychosocial, and financial assistance during medical leave, COBRA premium support, and help applying for SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, Medicare, and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act services.

This section establishes a comprehensive cancer survivorship program under which the Secretary awards grants to State comprehensive cancer programs, National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers, and community-based organizations to provide services to cancer survivors, including moderate physical activity, mental health support, nutrition counseling, and recurrence screening. The Secretary must commence the grant program within 18 months of enactment and must conduct outreach, analyze grantee data on participants and quality-of-life outcomes, share best practices, and coordinate with the alternative payment model for quality survivorship care.

This section directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the Government Accountability Office within 6 months of enactment to study progress in cancer survivorship since the National Cancer Act of 1971. The study examines developments in survivorship care quality and transitions, survivor quality of life and outcomes, access disparities, health care systems, community-based services, and public and private payment. It assesses the Office of Cancer Survivorship’s contributions over the past 25 years. The Comptroller General must convene public meetings with cancer survivors, providers, payors, researchers, and other stakeholders to inform the study and to release the report.

This section requires states to provide Medicaid coverage for healthcare transitions for survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer, notwithstanding comparability requirements. The term covers transition services from active oncological care to primary care, including survivorship care plans and at least two transition visits per year based on Children’s Oncology Group Long-term Follow-Up Guidelines for risk assessment, late-effects screening, and follow-up care.

This section requires states to cover cancer fertility services under Medicaid for individuals diagnosed with cancer who are undergoing, preparing for, or previously underwent treatment that may cause iatrogenic infertility, notwithstanding comparability rules. Services include fertility preservation and treatment per American Society for Reproductive Medicine or American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines, plus long-term storage for at least 15 years for those under age 18 and 10 years for those age 18 or older; the requirement is optional for territories. It prohibits cost-sharing for these services and extends the coverage mandate and cost-sharing prohibition to CHIP, effective 18 months after enactment (with one CHIP redesignation effective October 1, 2026).

This section establishes the Office of Cancer Survivorship within the Office of the Director of the National Cancer Institute. The Office manages a portfolio of research grants on late and long-term effects of cancer and cancer treatment, health delivery models for survivorship care, and related communication efforts; conducts professional education on best practices; and provides survivor education on monitoring, follow-up care, and long-term management.