Cancer is a widespread disease with as much as 475 out of every 100,000 people in Georgia being diagnosed in 2010, according to the National Cancer Institute Website. One of the ramifications of being diagnosed with this disease is the financial burden it often places on individuals. According to the National Cancer Institute website, in 2010 over $124.57 billion was spent on the cost of cancer care across the United States (National Cancer Institute website, 2014). There has long been a gap in the insurance coverage with cancer treatment. Intravenous medication was covered at a much higher rate than oral varieties. This discrepancy lies in how insurance companies view oral chemotherapy as opposed to intravenous. Many insurance providers classify oral chemotherapy under the drug plan instead of a medical benefit. Prescription drug plans often cover a lower percentage than something listed as a medical benefit, and they often have a cap that is far too low for the expensive oral oncolytics, according to the Washington Post (The Washington Post website, 2010).Raborn et al. found that the minimum cost in 2009 for the 21 top oral oncolytics was $15 but the highest was also $500 ( Raborn et al., 2009). This topic also gained the attention of the Kaiser Family Foundation, along with the documentary in 2009 they also completed a study about patients spending whatever they had to, including all of their life savings, just to survive (Schwartz et al., 2009).
This impacts a great number of people with cancer in a negative way due to having to either choose more invasive means of treatment (i.e. I.V. chemotherapy) with more severe side effects or pay potentially thousands of dollars out of pocket for oral treatment. The financial burden for a person recently diagnosed with cancer averages $16,000 in first year of diagnosis (Trent, 2014 p. 122).This decision can also cause as much as 10% of cancer patients prescribed oral chemotherapy to walk away from treatment ( Streeter et. al., 2011). House Bill 943 seeks to help fill this gap by requiring that insurance companies cover oral chemotherapy at the same rate that they do traditional intravenous chemotherapy. A number of other states including Oregan and Washington D.C. have already enacted similar bills, recognizing the gap in coverage as having an impact on their citizens (Boodman, 2010).
This impacts a great number of people with cancer in a negative way due to having to either choose more invasive means of treatment (i.e. I.V. chemotherapy) with more severe side effects or pay potentially thousands of dollars out of pocket for oral treatment. The financial burden for a person recently diagnosed with cancer averages $16,000 in first year of diagnosis (Trent, 2014 p. 122).This decision can also cause as much as 10% of cancer patients prescribed oral chemotherapy to walk away from treatment ( Streeter et. al., 2011). House Bill 943 seeks to help fill this gap by requiring that insurance companies cover oral chemotherapy at the same rate that they do traditional intravenous chemotherapy. A number of other states including Oregan and Washington D.C. have already enacted similar bills, recognizing the gap in coverage as having an impact on their citizens (Boodman, 2010).