H.R. 842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
Enacted as part of HR7148: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026· Feb 3, 2026
Sponsor
Jodey Arrington
Republican · TX-19
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Oct 3, 2025
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-333, Part I.
Medicare should cover blood tests for more cancers
Why it matters
One blood test could look for multiple cancers at once, but H.R. 842 says Medicare wouldn't start paying until 2028 and would cap coverage at once every 11 months. It also shuts out beneficiaries who are already 68 or older in 2028 unless a covered test later earns a top preventive-services rating.
H.R. 842 creates a new Medicare benefit category for multi-cancer early detection tests starting January 1, 2028. These are screening tests designed to look for multiple cancer types across multiple organs in one test, with blood-based genomic tests as the main model.
Not every test qualifies. The test has to be cleared or approved by the FDA, and the Health and Human Services secretary would still have to decide through Medicare's national coverage process that it's reasonable and necessary for Medicare patients.
The bill also builds in two big limits. Medicare generally could not pay for more than one of these tests within 11 months, and it could not pay for people who had already reached age 68 by the start of 2028. That age cap rises by one year each year after that.
So in practice, the cutoff would be 68 in 2028, 69 in 2029, 70 in 2030, and so on. If a test later gets a grade of A or B from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and Medicare covers it under that route, those age and frequency limits would no longer apply.
The bill also says this new benefit cannot be used to cut off existing Medicare screening coverage for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer. In other words, Congress is adding another screening option, not swapping out the ones you already know.
H.R. 842 Bill Summary
What H.R. 842 actually does.
Medicare starts covering multi-cancer screening in 2028
Beginning January 1, 2028, Medicare could cover qualifying multi-cancer early detection screening tests for people with Part A or Part B coverage.
Only qualifying FDA-reviewed tests get in
A covered test must detect multiple cancers across multiple organ sites and must already be cleared, classified, or approved through the FDA pathway described in the bill.
Blood-based genomic tests are the main target
The bill is built around genomic sequencing blood or blood-product tests that analyze cell-free nucleic acids, though other biological-sample tests could qualify if federal officials find the results comparable.
Medicare usually pays for one test every 11 months
Medicare generally could not pay for another multi-cancer screening test if you already had one in the previous 11 months.
Coverage would phase in by age
The bill says Medicare could not pay in 2028 for people who were already 68 or older on January 1 of that year. That cutoff rises by one year in each later year.
Existing cancer screenings stay in place
The bill says multi-cancer screening coverage cannot be used to reduce Medicare coverage for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer screening.
Payment starts with a known benchmark
Before 2031, Medicare would pay the same rate used at enactment for a multi-target stool DNA screening test. Starting in 2031, Medicare would pay the lower of that benchmark or the rate set under Medicare's clinical lab payment system.
Who benefits from H.R. 842?
Medicare patients under the yearly age cap
If you're on Medicare and below the bill's age cutoff, H.R. 842 could give you access to a single screening test that looks for multiple cancers at once starting in 2028.
People who want a blood-based screening option
The bill is aimed at blood-based genomic screening, so patients who prefer a less invasive test could gain a new Medicare-covered option if a product qualifies.
Companies developing multi-cancer detection tests
Test makers could gain a defined Medicare coverage pathway if their products clear the FDA process and win a national coverage decision from federal health officials.
Patients already using standard screenings
People who rely on mammograms, colon cancer screening, lung screening, or prostate screening keep those benefits. The bill says this new coverage cannot replace them.
Who is affected by H.R. 842?
Beneficiaries 68 and older in 2028
If you had already turned 68 by January 1, 2028, Medicare payment for these tests would be excluded that year under the bill's age rule.
People who want repeat testing within a year
If you want another multi-cancer screening test within 11 months, Medicare generally would not pay for it unless the covered test later earns a top U.S. Preventive Services Task Force rating.
Health and Human Services officials
Federal health officials would have to decide which tests are reasonable and necessary for Medicare patients through the national coverage determination process.
Test developers without FDA clearance or approval
Products that have not gone through the required FDA review path would not qualify for this Medicare coverage route.
HR842 Legislative Journey
House: Committee Action
Oct 3, 2025
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-333, Part I.
House: Vote: 43-0
Sep 17, 2025
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 43 - 0.
House: Committee Action
Jan 31, 2025
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
About the Sponsor
Jodey Arrington
Republican, Texas's 19th congressional district · 9 years in Congress
Committees: the Budget, Joint Economic Committee, Ways and Means
View full profile →
Cosponsors at time of passage (338)
This bill has 338 cosponsors: 185 Democrats, 153 Republicans, reflecting bipartisan support. Cosponsors represent 47 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, and 44 more.
Terri Sewell
Democrat · AL
Richard Hudson
Republican · NC
Raul Ruiz
Democrat · CA
Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Republican · IA
Robin Kelly
Democrat · IL
Carol Miller
Republican · WV
Sylvester Turner
Democrat · TX
August Pfluger
Republican · TX
Morgan McGarvey
Democrat · KY
Mike Carey
Republican · OH
Jared Moskowitz
Democrat · FL
Dan Crenshaw
Republican · TX
Cosponsor Coverage Map
Committee Sponsors
Ways and Means Committee
40 of 45 committee members cosponsored at the time
Energy and Commerce Committee
44 of 54 committee members cosponsored at the time
What laws does H.R. 842 change?
1 changes
Sections Amended
Section 1834 of Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m)
adding at the end the following new subsection: ``(aa) Payment and Standards for Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Tests
H.R. 842 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Ways and Means
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Health
- Introduced
- Jan 31, 2025
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-333, Part I.
Oct 3, 2025
Official Sources
Official bill page with status, text, cosponsors, and actions for H.R. 842.
The bill requires the Secretary to use Medicare's national coverage determination process to decide whether a new multi-cancer test is covered.
Multi-cancer early detection tests described in the bill would likely be regulated as in vitro diagnostic medical devices reviewed by FDA.
The bill specifically references section 510(k) clearance as one pathway a qualifying test can use.
The bill references classification under section 513(f)(2), which corresponds to FDA's De Novo classification process for certain devices.
The bill also allows tests approved under section 515 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to qualify.
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Who is lobbying on H.R. 842?
9 organizations lobbying on this bill
EXACT SCIENCES CORPORATION | 10 |
GRAIL, INC. (FORMERLY GRAIL, LLC) | 10 |
JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (USA) (FKA JOHN HANCOCK FIN. SERVICES, INC.) | 4 |
NATIONAL MINORITY QUALITY FORUM ACTION NETWORK | 4 |
GRAIL, INC | 4 |
JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (U.S.A.) | 4 |
TIBER CREEK HEALTH STRATEGIES, INC. ON BEHALF OF GRAIL, LLC | 3 |
CURING STOMACH CANCER: DEBBIE'S DREAM FOUNDATION | 3 |
GRAIL, LLC | 2 |
Showing 1-9 of 9 organizations
H.R. 842 Common Questions
What would H.R. 842 do?
H.R. 842 would let Medicare cover certain multi-cancer early detection tests starting in 2028. These tests are designed to screen for multiple cancers at once, often with a blood sample.
When would Medicare start covering these cancer blood tests?
Coverage would start on January 1, 2028, if the test meets the bill's standards and Medicare approves it through the national coverage process.
Who could get a Medicare-covered multi-cancer test under H.R. 842?
People on Medicare Part A or Part B could qualify, but the bill says Medicare generally could not pay if you had already reached the yearly age cutoff or had the test in the previous 11 months.
What is the age cutoff in H.R. 842?
The bill sets the cutoff at age 68 in 2028, then 69 in 2029, 70 in 2030, and so on. It's based on your age as of January 1 of that year.
How often would Medicare pay for a multi-cancer early detection test?
Usually no more than once every 11 months. That limit would stop applying if a covered test later gets a grade of A or B from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Would H.R. 842 replace mammograms or colon cancer screening?
No. The bill says Medicare coverage for multi-cancer tests cannot be used to affect existing screening coverage for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer.
What kinds of tests could qualify for Medicare coverage?
The bill focuses on FDA-reviewed tests that detect multiple cancers across multiple organs. Blood-based genomic tests are the main example, but comparable biological-sample tests could also qualify.
What is the current status of H.R. 842?
H.R. 842 was reported as amended by the House Ways and Means Committee. According to Congress.gov metadata you provided, it has 338 cosponsors.
Based on H.R. 842 bill text
H.R. 842 Bill Text
“To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of multi-cancer early detection screening tests.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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