Lawmakers earlier this week held a briefing to promote a bill (HR 1078) that would encourage physicians to develop a personalized "survivorship care plan" for cancer survivors, CQ HealthBeat reports. The bill, sponsored by Reps. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Tom Davis (R-Va.), seeks to implement recommendations from a Nov. 7, 2005, Institute of Medicine report on treatment for cancer survivors. Under the legislation, which has about 25 co-sponsors, Medicare would provide reimbursements to physicians for the development of a survivorship care plan for cancer survivors. Capps and Davis hope that the bill also would prompt private health insurers to adopt the practice. Aides to Capps did not provide an estimate of the cost of the legislation but said some provisions "could be somewhat expensive." Emily Kryder, a spokesperson for Capps, said that the bill would address "the need for a comprehensive summary of a patient's treatment history that is transferable and controlled by the patient." In a statement, Capps said, "As more people fight, survive and live with cancer, the need for a comprehensive approach to treating this disease grows. It is my hope that in the coming months we can move this legislation forward quickly" (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 4/24).

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