The program includes annual screenings for women aged >40 years, as well as support services for patients with cancer. The American Breast Cancer Foundation provides direct financial assistance to uninsured and underserved women and men of all ages for breast cancer screening and diagnostic tests through the Key to Life Breast Cancer Assistance Program. In addition to the contact information listed below, many national organizations can also be contacted through their local affiliates. Specific eligibility requirements and levels of assistance vary widely from program to program therefore, financial counselors and other oncology administrative staff are urged to research specific program criteria.īelow is a list of programs that assist with cancer-related healthcare needs. Other organizations serve as resources to help patients identify sources of funding. Most of these organizations have copayment programs that provide financial assistance for certain healthcare costs to patients who qualify financially and medically. Many foundations and nonprofit organizations are available to help patients in need. There is no single, central resource for financial assistance services therefore, patients frequently look to their oncology provider for help in identifying organizations that provide assistance. This resource intends to provide a broad overview of the patient assistance services that are available to eligible patients with cancer, focusing primarily on programs that help patients afford the cost of prescription drugs. 10-12įortunately, there are a number of options for patients with cancer who are in need. 9Ĭost-related medication nonadherence has important implications for healthcare, and paradoxically may increase overall health costs, because care that is potentially preventable with the use of effective medications could cost more than the drugs themselves. 8Furthermore, despite Medicaid program expansion and the Accountable Care Act mandate requiring eligible individuals to purchase health insurance, many adult Americans remain uninsured. 7As a result, more than one-quarter of patients have not filled a prescription or have reduced a prescribed dosage because they cannot afford to pay its out-of-pocket cost. It is estimated that 40% of Americans of all ages, 6and two-thirds of the elderly population report difficulty paying for medications. However, the affordability of prescription drugs is a concern for many patients, and the ability to afford prescription medications is an important issue in the United States. Patients are expected to bear some of the cost of new cancer therapies. According to Express Scripts’ 2013 Drug Trend Report, the average cost per prescription for a cancer drug was $4023 in 2013.
3,4Because of these factors, anticancer therapies can be expensive. As a result, the total treatment cost is additive, as new drugs added to the treatment armamentarium do not necessarily replace older drugs rather, they are inserted into the treatment pathways as add-ons to former standard-of-care treatments. In addition, because most cancers are incurable, patients cycle through most or all of the possible approved agents, sequentially or in combination. A tremendous amount of research, much of it conducted in the private sector, is required to develop breakthrough therapies and technologies in cancer, and it is expensive to perform the clinical trials required to gain approval and move new compounds from the bench to the bedside. 1Īlthough there have been great advances in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics, there is also a considerable cost associated with cancer treatment in general, as well as in the development of new anticancer therapies. New therapies have essentially transformed certain cancers into chronic diseases, leading to vastly improved long-term survival.1 As more patients survive cancer and more individualized treatment is possible, greater attention is being paid to the quality and the value of healthcare, leading to innovative solutions for quality improvement. These advances in knowledge have facilitated the development of new and more targeted therapeutic strategies, ushering in an era of increasing potential for personalized medicine. Our ability to map cancer genomes and understand signaling pathways that govern normal and malignant cell growth have led to an explosion of knowledge regarding the biochemical changes that characterize cancer cells. Although the incidence rates of cancer have not changed substantially, cancer death rates have declined 21% among men and 12% among women since the 1990s, and more than 13 million cancer survivors are alive in the United States today. Investment in cancer research has led to tremendous strides in the improvement of patient care, survival, and quality of life.