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Read. Follow. Verify.Mississippi bill repeals expiration date on ban preventing health plans from requiring step therapy for metastatic cancer drugs
Last action · March 3, 2026: 03/03 (H) Died In CommitteeSponsors: Walter Michel and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
Senate Bill 2367 removes the scheduled June 30, 2026, expiration date for a state law that prohibits health benefit plans from requiring for patients with advanced, metastatic cancer. Under the measure, insurance plans cannot require enrollees to try and fail on a different drug before covering an FDA-approved prescription drug that is consistent with best practices and supported by peer-reviewed literature. The bill passed the Senate and died in committee during the 2026 legislative session.
Patients with advanced metastatic cancer maintain permanent protection from insurance requirements that mandate trying alternative medications before accessing prescribed treatments.
- Step therapy, also known as 'fail first,' is a protocol used by health plans requiring patients to try lower-cost medications before approving the specific drug prescribed by their physician. context
- Senate Bill 2367 was introduced during the 2026 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature and passed the Senate before dying in committee. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
health insurance enrollees with advanced metastatic cancer
Enrollees maintain permanent protection from being required to try and fail on alternative drugs before receiving prescribed FDA-approved treatments.
health benefit plan insurers
Insurers are permanently barred from enforcing step therapy requirements for covered advanced metastatic cancer prescription drugs.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this bill change about insurance coverage for cancer patients?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died in committee.
Procedural history
6 actions- Mar 3, 2026House03/03 (H) Died In Committee
- Feb 16, 2026HouseCommittee02/16 (H) Referred To Insurance
- Feb 11, 2026Senate02/11 (S) Transmitted To House
- Feb 10, 2026SenateFloor02/10 (S) Passed
- Feb 3, 2026SenateCommittee02/03 (S) Title Suff Do Pass
- Jan 19, 2026SenateCommittee01/19 (S) Referred To Insurance
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Voting Record
02/10 (S) Passed
Total
49
- Yes
- 49
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (49)
25 more members
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Permanent Removal of Sunset Provision
The bill turns a temporary consumer protection established in 2024 into a permanent mandate by deleting the June 30, 2026, repeal date.
Connected Entities
Sources
billstatus.ls.state.ms.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 55)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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