Financial Issues

It’s no surprise that cancer care comes with a large price tag. However, it’s not always obvious at the time of treatment how much the disease, its management and the lasting effects will financially affect someone well into survivorship.

This essay way written by Meaghan Connors from the Ann and Carl Myers Cancer Center, Radiation Oncology Department nominating registered nurse, LeSandra Bertch, for CURE®’s 2019 Extraordinary Healer® Award.

When someone is faced with a cancer diagnosis and treatment, they often wonder “do I need to go out on disability?” Unfortunately, they aren’t always sure what that actually means, or that it could mean multiple things.

Of all the health care regulations coming out of the current administration, the recent drug rebate proposal presents a new opportunity to significantly lower out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare patients. But like most things in health care, there is more complexity to the administration’s proposed changes to pharmaceutical company rebates than initially meets the eye.

The high cost of treatment for cancer places a heavy burden on patients and their families, often leading to stress-related illnesses. Is there a solution?

Health care shouldn't be a fight, but it is. I tell my story of fighting for an MRI in a hope that I illuminate the cracks in our system in a hope we can make change, so no one falls through those cracks.