Cancer is one of the most expensive medical conditions to treat in the U.S. – © stock.adobe.com
Cancer is one of the most expensive medical conditions to treat in the U.S. As a result, patients, survivors, and caregivers—already challenged by the physical and emotional burdens of cancer—often face growing medical debt. The high cost of care that leads to this medical debt adds further financial stress and burden, or financial toxicity—the last thing a patient, caregiver, or their family needs.
Things that put people at risk of financial toxicity:
- Type of health insurance or not having any health insurance (and surmounting costs which factor in premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket max, co-insurance percentage, etc.)
- Cancer type, its severity, and treatment received
- Age, race and ethnicity, income, and whether the patient or caregiver has a job
Advancements in blood cancer therapy are dramatically impacting the range of treatments available to patients. As a result, people living with or in remission from cancer are living longer and need ongoing healthcare management—all while possibly accumulating medical debt.
And as patients and/or caregivers pay more and more out of their own pockets for care, financial toxicity has become another unbearable side effect of cancer, affecting their financial future and their health.
- 42% of patients exhaust their entire life savings within two years of a cancer diagnosis.
- One in four cancer patients delay medical care, go without care, or alter their cancer treatment because of cost, affecting their outcomes.
For patients with medical debt, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is here for you with our Medical Debt Case Management Program. Our case managers work directly with blood cancer patients, their caregivers, and healthcare professionals to assist patients in managing their medical debt. Services include but are not limited to addressing financial concerns, including managing existing medical debt and planning for upcoming medical expenses, identifying resources such as charity care organizations or manufacturer patient assistance programs that may reduce the financial burden, assistance with insurance plan evaluation and enrollment, such as Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace plans, and employer-sponsored health insurance and navigating insurance benefits, denials of care, and out-of-pocket costs. The program is not a debt forgiveness program, does NOT pay off medical debt and cannot assist with debt that is in collections.
More information about the LLS Medical Debt Case Management program can be found by contacting an Information Specialist at 1-800-955-4572 or visiting https://www.lls.org/medicaldebt.
Please Note: Our case managers work individually with patients and their caregivers, which means there is a limited number of cases they can take each day. If you do not get into the program today, please continue to check back daily.
