36. Who Pays the Bills?
The government's Medicare and Medicaid programs, together, pay about 36% of the $70 billion dollars in medical treatment costs for cancer patients each year. The same percentage is paid by private sector providers of health insurance.
Uninsured. Of Americans who are diagnosed each year... 1 in 10 have no health insurance and do not qualify (in most cases because they are too young) for Medicare.
Larger Patient Co-Pay for Latest Anti-Cancer Drugs.
Many of the most expensive drugs (including some that combat cancer) have been placed in a new "Tier 4" under the Medicare drug benefit program. For these drugs patient co-pay is based on a percentage (at least 20%) of the cost of filling a prescription. The traditional system had patients paying a fixed amount – say $10 per drug – regardless of the drug’s cost. (NYT 4/14/08)
Many of the most expensive drugs (including some that combat cancer) have been placed in a new "Tier 4" under the Medicare drug benefit program. For these drugs patient co-pay is based on a percentage (at least 20%) of the cost of filling a prescription. The traditional system had patients paying a fixed amount – say $10 per drug – regardless of the drug’s cost. (NYT 4/14/08)