2025 Maryland Legislative Agenda

Victory in the fight against cancer requires bold new public policies that promote cancer prevention, early detection of cancer, and expand access to quality, affordable health care. Lawmakers make many decisions that impact the lives of Marylanders impacted by cancer and their leadership is vital to defeating this disease. In 2025 the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) will work with the Maryland General Assembly and the Moore-Miller Administration on legislative and regulatory efforts that provide affordable, adequate access to health insurance including Medicaid, ensure adequate funding for lifesaving cancer screening and prevention programs, and enact prevention policies to protect kids from tobacco products and help support those who are trying to quit. We will be making the following fact-based policies a priority and ask for your support:

Ensuring Access to Quality Care

• Affordable, Adequate Health Insurance: ACS CAN will advocate for policies that ensure access to quality, affordable and comprehensive health insurance including Medicaid and will support efforts to curb the availability of inadequate health plans.

• Prescription Drug Affordability: ACS CAN supports legislation that restricts the use of so-called copay accumulator adjustments in health insurance plans. We will advocate for policies that ensure third party prescription drug copay assistance is counted toward patients’ out-of-pocket cost obligations.

• Patient Navigation: ACS CAN is advocating for a study to identify the gaps and opportunities present in Maryland’s patient navigation system, in order to create a roadmap to enable a seamless and integrated experience for patients.

Cancer Prevention and Early Detection

• Breast and Cervical Cancer: ACS CAN will advocate to maintain funding of $13.23 million for the Breast and Cervical Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment (BCCDT) Program for low-income uninsured and underinsured women administered by the Maryland Department of Health

Reducing the Toll of Tobacco

• Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Funding: ACS CAN will work to maintain funding for fact-based, statewide tobacco prevention and cessation programs at $20.8 million.

• Access to Tobacco Cessation: ACS CAN will advocate for all insurance plans, including the state Medicaid program, to provide a comprehensive cessation benefit that covers individual, group, and telephone counseling and all FDA-approved tobacco cessation medications without cost-sharing or other barriers to accessing care.

• Smoke-free Air: ACS CAN will defend our statewide comprehensive smoke-free law that covers all workplaces including restaurants, bars, and gaming facilities. ACS CAN works to defend the statewide smoke-free law against any exemptions. ACS CAN will continue to work to expand the statewide smoke-free law to prohibit the use of e-cigarettes and marijuana wherever smoking is prohibited.