CancerCare Helps Cover Co-Payment Costs of Treatment for Seven Diagnoses

July 1, 2011

The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation provides up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance to eligible individuals facing the following diagnoses:

  • colon or colorectal cancer
  • gastric cancer
  • glioblastoma
  • non-small cell lung cancer
  • pancreatic cancer
  • renal cell cancer

Also, people affected by prostate cancer may be eligible to receive up to $5,000 per year in co-payment assistance through the foundation.

Currently, the funds for breast cancer and head and neck cancer are closed. We will notify you as soon as these funds become available again. 

Visit www.cancercarecopay.org to learn more about the foundation and to apply for assistance.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

Co-Payment Assistance is Available for People Facing Prostate Cancer

January 5, 2011

The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation provides up to $5,000 per year in co-payment assistance to people facing prostate cancer.  Visit www.cancercarecopay.org to learn how to apply, and to see a list of covered medications.

Read about “game-changing” research in prostate cancer treatment in CancerCare’s new booklet, Your Guide to the Latest Cancer Research and Treatments.  You can order free copies of the booklet, along with publications such as Living with Metastatic Prostate Cancer and Caring for Your Bones When You Have Prostate Cancer.

Learn more about CancerCare’s free support services for people affected by prostate cancer.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

CancerCare Extends Co-Payment Assistance to Gastric Cancer Patients

October 21, 2010

People undergoing treatment for gastric cancer who have health insurance can now receive up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance through the CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation. The foundation was established in 2007 to help cancer patients who have health insurance coverage but may be unable to afford the out-of-pocket costs of their insurance co-payments for treatment.

Visit www.cancercarecopay.org or call 1-866-55-COPAY (6729) to learn more about eligibility requirements, diagnoses and treatments covered, and how to apply for assistance. 

Learn more about CancerCare’s free, professional support services for anyone affected by gastric cancer.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

Financial Help for Cancer Patients Lessens Out-of-Pocket Treatment Costs

September 14, 2010

Health care providers should open up the conversation with their patients about resources that can help ease the burden of costly insurance co-payments for their cancer treatments, advises CancerCare CEO Helen H. Miller in the latest issue of Oncology Nurse Advisor magazine.

Many patients may hesitate to discuss financial matters with their health care team, Miller notes, even though their ability to cover  medical costs is key to complying with their treatment. 

Miller advises oncology nurses and other health care providers to talk openly with their patients about financial resources that might benefit them. The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation, for example, provides qualified individuals with up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance for certain cancer diagnoses and treatments. The Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition (CFAC) is a searchable database that directs patients to other sources of financial assistance, locally and nationally.

Read the full article for more resources.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

Medical Schools Teaching Future Doctors about Cost of Care

May 6, 2010

A recent article in The New York Times describes how medical schools are educating future doctors about the high costs of medical treatments and how health care is financed.

Doctors-in-training were traditionally shielded from the cost of the tests and treatment required for their patients.  Students were taught to order tests based on their evaluation of the condition, rather than factor in the high cost to the patient. 

Now, many residency programs are creating courses for students about health policy that include information about treatment costs and insurance. For example, Dr. Yasmin S. Meah, an assistant professor of medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, directs a clinic that she describes as teaching future doctors how to “understand what is necessary and what is not. ” Students there are learning valuable lessons in how to practice medicine more cost-effectively for patients.

These are exciting developments because, as the financial impact of cancer treatment can be overwhelming, cost of care is a key issue for doctors and patients to discuss. Just as important is knowing about the resources that exist to provide patients with financial support.

The Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition (CFAC) is a group of organizations, which includes CancerCare, that offers financial help and resources. The coalition educates patients and providers about existing resources through a comprehensive online database.

The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation provides eligible individuals with up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance. 

Learn more about the financial support offered by CancerCare.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

USA Today Examines Rising Costs of Cancer Treatments

March 19, 2010

An article published in USA Today this past Wednesday mentions CancerCare in an examination of escalating costs of cancer treatment.

The costs of treatment and care for a person with cancer have skyrocketed in recent years, with overall spending in the U.S. now exceeding $90 billion.  It is impossible to provide an estimate of the “average” cost of cancer treatment, as hundreds of different diagnoses and their respective costs are too extreme to yield an accurate median.

The only certainty is, cancer is an extremely expensive illness to treat.  Charitable organizations such as CancerCare provide financial help to thousands of people per year but are not the total solution to the financial hardships people with cancer too often face.

We are optimistic that this weekend’s vote on health care reform will spark a change towards more comprehensive coverage, and help to ease the already-tremendous financial burden of a cancer diagnosis on individuals and families.

For more than 60 years, CancerCare has provided financial assistance to help with some types of costs, including transportation, homecare, childcare, and pain medication. Our social workers and case managers are knowledgeable about financial issues, and will work closely with you to get you the help you need.

The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation was created in 2007 to help people with health insurance who are struggling to cover their treatment co-payments.  Qualified individuals with certain diagnoses may receive up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance.

CancerCare is a member of the Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition (CFAC), a coalition of organizations that help cancer patients manage their financial challenges.  We encourage you to use the coalition’s resource directory to find financial resources in your community.

To learn more about managing the cost of cancer treatment, please visit the ASCO Cancer Foundation’s financial assistance section of their website.

Read the full USA Today article here.

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

Co-Payment Assistance Available to Kidney and Colorectal Cancer Patients

March 4, 2010

March is both Kidney Cancer Awareness Month and National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. 

The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation provides up to $10,000 per year in co-payment assistance to eligible individuals facing renal cell carcinoma or colorectal cancer.

CancerCare has also responded to the needs of people facing kidney cancer by hosting Connect Education Workshops that offer information about research and treatment in kidney cancer and offering informative kidney cancer publications in our ever-expanding online reading room.

To learn about treatment updates for colorectal cancer, listen to our most recent Connect Education Workshop, Emerging Treatments for Colorectal Cancer: What’s New? Other Connect Education Workshops have explored colorectal cancer topics such as improved treatment options through clinical trials and updates on genetic testing for recurrence.

Additionally, this month’s Ask CancerCare column gives you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about coping with colorectal cancer.

For more resources on these cancers, visit the diagnoses pages on our website. 

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Posted by Kyle Hornyak

“How Much is This Going to Cost?”

August 25, 2009

“Is the doctor going to give you what might be a lesser treatment, because he thinks you are worried about money? Is it appropriate to ask the busy doctor about costs?”

Questions like these are running through many patients’ minds, says CancerCare Executive Director Diane Blum, MSW, despite many physicians’ believing that their patients are not worried about cost.

Yet, how they will be able to pay for insurance co-payments, medications and transportation to outpatient services are among the financial worries of many cancer patients, notes Blum, who is quoted in the July/August 2009 issue of Oncology Nursing News, in the article, “Costs of Care Now Part of Care Discussion.”

Blum, who chairs the Patient Resources Subcommittee of the ASCO Cost of Cancer Care Task Force, urged doctors to address the costs of treatment with their patients during a panel discussion at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual conference, held this past June in Orlando, Fla. She also covered a variety of financial assistance programs available for people undergoing cancer treatment including CancerCare‘s Co-Payment Assistance Foundation and the Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition, a group of 12 organizations that provide financial support.

“We cannot pay [all of] the bills,” says Blum, “but we can…get you to the resources most appropriate to your need.”

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Posted by Monica Cavazos Mendez

Financial Assistance Resources for Cancer Patients

July 16, 2009

CancerCare is one of a dozen members of the Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition (CFAC), formed in 2007 to provide better access to existing financial resources to help cancer patients cover some of the costs of their treatment. CFAC’s website, www.cancerfac.org, was launched this past May to provide information, contact information and links to organizations that offer financial assistance.

The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation, another coalition member, helps cancer patients with health insurance cover the cost of their co-pays for treatment. The Foundation currently provides assistance for 6 diagnoses; additional cancer types will be added as more funding becomes available. Visit www.cancercarecopay.org for more information.

Order a free copy of the new CancerCare’s Helping Hand: a Resource Guide for People with Cancer–Financial Edition, from the CancerCare website at http://www.cancercare.org/reading_room/pub_order.php#4.

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Posted by Jeanie M. Barnett