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The Obama administration announced on Monday that it hoped to spend $1 billion to fund a cancer “moonshot” in search of a cure. But in the costly world of biological research, such a sum may be better described as a cancer slingshot, researchers said. “The good news is that the budget is no longer being cut,” said Dr. Peter Adamson, the chairman of the Children’s Oncology Group, which conducts national clinical trials. “But we’re not going to the moon on $1 billion.” (Harris, 2/1)

President Obama plans to ask Congress for $755 million in cancer-research funding as part of his 2017 budget, according to the White House. That would bring the funding total to nearly $1 billion over the next two years to accelerate what the president called a "moonshot" to try to eliminate cancer. Congress has already approved $195 million in research funding in 2016. (Wagner, 2/1)

The White House will ask Congress for $1 billion to carry out Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s “moonshot” cancer initiative when it submits its fiscal 2017 budget request next week, according to senior administration officials. President Barack Obama is expected to propose $755 million in mandatory funding for new cancer-related research activities at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, as well as unspecified smaller increases for the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments. Officials said the cumulative investments will help support research on cancer vaccines, early detection, immunotherapy, genomic analysis and enhanced data-sharing. (Zanona, 2/1)

Pennsylvania-based Independence Blue Cross’ announcement that it will cover a complex type of genetic testing for some cancer patients thrusts the insurer into an ongoing debate about how to handle an increasing array of these expensive tests. Independence — with its approximately 3 million members — became the largest insurer to cover whole genome sequencing for select cancer patients. (Appleby, 2/2)