# Cancer Drug Parity Act of 2025

Right now, many health insurance plans treat cancer drugs differently depending on how you take them. If your cancer medication comes as an injection or IV infusion given by a doctor in a clinic, your insurance might cover most of the cost. But if that same medication is available as a pill you take at home, your insurance might make you pay much more out of pocket through higher copays, deductibles, or coinsurance. This bill aims to fix that unfair situation by requiring employer-sponsored health plans to charge patients the same amount for oral cancer drugs as they do for cancer drugs administered by healthcare providers.

Here's what this means in practical terms: If your insurance plan covers an intravenous cancer drug with a $50 copay, and your doctor prescribes an oral version of a similar drug, your insurance would have to charge you that same $50 copay rather than, say, $200. The bill applies to any FDA-approved cancer medication that patients take by mouth, as long as a doctor determines it's medically necessary and appropriate for your specific situation. Insurance companies can still require prior authorization (getting approval before you fill the prescription) and can use other standard cost-control measures, but they can't use higher costs as a way to discourage you from choosing the oral option.

The law takes effect for insurance plans starting in 2026 and only applies to employer-sponsored health plans covered under federal employee benefits rules. It doesn't cover individual insurance plans you buy on your own or Medicare. The bill also prevents insurance companies from trying to get around this rule by making other cancer drugs more expensive or adding stricter limits on oral medications. Congress has also asked for a study within two years to see how well this law is working and whether more needs to be done to help people afford cancer medications.