Requires health insurance policies and Medicaid to cover patient navigation services

• Democratic28
• Republican5

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Jamaal Bailey says this is needed

Patient navigation is individualized assistance that helps a patient overcome health care system barriers from prevention and early detection of disease to accessing quality health and psychosocial care. Patient navigation is critical to ensure access and improve outcomes for patients in need of screening and for treatment of serious, often life- threatening conditions. For example, oncology patient navigation extends across the full cancer continuum, beginning with screening and early detection, and extending through diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life. Access to patient navigation services can help cancer patients and survivors get the care they need. Patient navigation programs can help eliminate health disparities and reduce costs across the care continuum by addressing the needs of people who have been historically marginalized and excluded, as well as those living in under-resourced communities. The navigators help increase disease screening rates, help patients better understand and access treatment options after diagnosis, and help ensure patients receive the post-treatment care they need in survivorship. Patient navigation offers tailored patient-centered care and the opportunity to prioritize unique patient needs. Patient navigation also has a proven return on investment and can help identify diagnosis at earlier stages when less invasive or progressed and less costly treatment options are available to patients, often resulting in better outcomes and reduced overall costs. Lastly, it has been shown to increase patient retention and reduce provider admin- istrative burdens, therefore reducing health care costs overall. Despite the positive impact on patient outcomes and reducing health care costs, patient navigation services are still absent or limited in many programs and hospital settings due to a lack of clinical reimbursement. Throughout the U.S., a patchwork of coverage exists, depending on where patients live and the type of insurance coverage they have, and is not continuous throughout the cancer care continuum. Ensuring access to patient navigation services will only be achieved by ensuring payment for patient navigation services is available across both public and private payers. The law will apply to all policies and contracts issued, renewed, or otherwise amended on or after the effective date.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.