Bipartisan lawmakers seek to increase funding for mobile CT lung cancer screening
Three members of the U.S. House are proposing bipartisan legislation to bolster funding for mobile lung cancer screening. This comes as radiologists urge Health and Human Services to increase awareness about preventing the deadly disease.
U.S. Reps. Raul Ruiz, MD, D-Calif., Gabe Evans, R-Col., and Debbie Wasserman Shultz, D-Fla., on Tuesday reintroduced the Mobile Cancer Screening Act (House Resolution 4417). Supported by the American College of Radiology and Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the bill would offer grants to help imaging providers purchase mobile CT screening units through the federal government.
“This is about bringing health equity to communities that have been left behind,” Ruiz said July 15. “Early cancer detection saves lives, but it doesn’t help if patients can’t get to a screening location. The Mobile Cancer Screening Act can change that.”
Ruiz and others also introduced the same legislation in 2024, but it failed to pass. Last year’s version offered up to $2 million per mobile imaging grant request, covering costs for new vehicles, low-dose CT and software. The grant program would be administered through the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Proponents including the Society of Thoracic Surgeons noted that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. Early detection can markedly improve treatment, but many eligible individuals do not participate in preventive imaging services. Radiologists hope mobile units will help reach eligible patients in isolated areas, increasing the likelihood of early lung cancer detection.
“Lifesaving imaging technologies cannot save lives if they are not available in our communities,” Dana H. Smetherman, MD, MPH, MBA, CEO of the American College of Radiology, said in a news update Thursday. “This bill is an important step toward ensuring and expanding access to modern screening exams, helping us catch more cancers early, and giving more people the chance to live longer, healthier lives.”
The ACR also is urging Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. to launch a public health campaign to promote lung cancer screening. The college in a July 14 letter shared data with the new HHS leader, highlighting the powerful impact of low-dose CT lung cancer screening.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.