Jill Biden welcomes proposal for Medicare to pay for navigation services for cancer patients

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Jill Biden on Wednesday welcomed a new proposal to have Medicare pay for navigation services for cancer patients, saying it will make “an enormous difference in people's lives.”

She joined other Biden administration officials on a conference call to discuss a proposal by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to pay for “principal illness navigation services," which help patients make decisions about treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses and overcome barriers to quality care.

Biden spoke about her sister Jan, who underwent six weeks of stem cell transplant therapy several years ago to treat lymphoma. Biden said an advocate helped her sister “every step of the way.”