The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed US hospitals and health systems, but at the same time many households are forgoing medical care due to financial insecurity and the withdrawal of employer-sponsored health insurance in the wake of massive job losses. This column proposes a private sector solution whereby life insurers provide interest-free loans to their policyholders …
Joseph and Julie Moon are abandoning their dream lives in New Zealand, forced to return to America to afford the drug treatment she needs to battle terminal cancer. Joseph Moon doesn’t remember much about the three weeks after he found out the love of his life had been diagnosed with lung cancer. “I cried a …
COVID-19 is certainly important. But oncologists, people with cancer, and complex ecosystem of cancer care in the U.S. are grappling with other important issues such as reimbursement, distorted incentives, the implications of the massive amount of data that is available, and, of course, high costs and prices. Included are thoughts from five experts on these …
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — While doctors have prescribed social distancing to protect from COVID-19 now, skipping cancer screenings could cost thousands of lives in the long run. “So, a lot of women are behind in getting their screening mamograms done,” Nurse Navigator Meg Shrader told WAVY.com. Shrader said that the Jennings Diagnostic Center at Chesapeake …
This is the second in a two-part series exploring the travel costs rural residents face when seeking medical care outside their communities. Rural residents across Canada often rack up thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses when travelling outside their community for healthcare. The problem is compounded by a provincial assortment of subsidy programs that can …
This story is part of The Cancer Letter’s ongoing coverage of COVID-19’s impact on oncology. A full list of our coverage is available here. This January, the American Cancer Society reported the sharpest drop in U.S. cancer mortality ever recorded. Between 2016 and 2017, the death rate from cancer fell 2.2%, continuing the trajectory of a 29% decline …
Financial Toxicity is a growing concern for many cancer patients and caregivers, and with the continued rise in treatment costs, it can no longer be ignored. In the United States, cancer is one of the most expensive diseases to treat, second only to heart disease, and cancer-related expenses are rising. This is, in fact, a …
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and today, we want to shine some light on B.I.G. Lovee Cancer Care! They are kicking off their annual coin drive, “Coins For Cancer Kids,” and need the community’s support! They are asking businesses and schools to join in by donating coins in designated safe coin collection containers or, you …
Findings from a study found that health care costs for patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who received treatment with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine or fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX) are driven mostly by outpatient costs (J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2020;26[7]:872-878. doi:10.18553/jmcp.2020.26.7.872). “Management of metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma… places a significant financial burden on the …
The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified inequities that historically underrepresented populations have faced for decades in the U.S. health care setting. Disparities in COVID-19 cases and mortality emerged early during the pandemic in the United States, with mortality rates more than twice as high among Blacks than whites. Such disparities already had been well-established in cancer …