Roseana Sarney proposes bill to guarantee cancer treatment deadlines

Federal Deputy Roseana Sarney has introduced Bill No. 4929/2026 to the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, aimed at ensuring cancer patients receive diagnosis and treatment within legal timeframes. Current Brazilian law requires diagnostic exams to be completed within 30 days and treatment to begin within 60 days of diagnosis.

The proposed legislation mandates that if the Unified Health System (SUS) fails to meet these deadlines, or if two-thirds of the legal timeframe passes without a confirmed appointment, patients must be automatically referred to the private healthcare network. The costs for this private care would be covered by the public system.

Under the proposal, if no private provider is available in the patient's immediate region, the patient would be entitled to care in another municipality, with the government providing transportation and displacement support. The bill seeks to utilize the complementary private network to fulfill existing public obligations without creating new costs for the SUS, as the system remains responsible for the patient's ongoing care.