House and Senate appropriators are currently working on their funding bills for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. In the House, Appropriations subcommittees have been “marking up” and advancing their bills, some of which have already passed the full Appropriations Committee and the House. In the Senate, Appropriations leaders are moving at a more deliberate pace. Later this year, the Republican-led House and Democrat-led Senate will have to reconcile differences in their versions of the appropriations bills. This includes reaching compromises on spending levels and contentious policy provisions typically included in such bills. It is expected that Congress will pass at least one continuing resolution to extend the process beyond the September 30 deadline and after the election.  

It's important that we continue to let Congress know about our funding priorities, including significant increases for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Lung Cancer Research Program (LCRP) at the Department of Defense! There are currently two campaigns on the Take Action page of the LUNGevity Action Network that you can use to personalize and send a message to your senators and representative(s).  

Congress is also considering numerous bills important to our community, some of which could be included in a year-end legislative package. This includes legislation to extend Medicare telehealth policies and to set up key protections for patients whose insurance may require step therapy. You can find campaigns related to these topics and more on the Take Action page of the LUNGevity Action Network.  

At the state level, many legislative sessions have ended for the year or will end soon. Five additional states have passed legislation expanding access to biomarker testing in 2024, and similar bills are pending in additional states. LUNGevity continues to support passage of these bills so that more patients will have coverage for biomarker testing to inform personalized treatment.