“Cancer can turn everything on its side for a lot of people,” says
Alex Huffman, Manager of Supportive Care at UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons
Comprehensive Cancer Center. “But the
logistics of either working through treatment or going through treatment with
limited resources is where we hear a lot of the financial anxiety.”
And the anxiety
isn’t unfounded. Plenty of patients are right to worry. Those faced with cancer
are 2.65 times more
likely to file for bankruptcy than people without cancer. And 42 percent of
cancer patients deplete their life savings in the two years following
diagnosis.
Why? Because cancer treatment is
expensive. Diagnostic imaging is costly, chemotherapy drugs are very
high-priced, even $40 copays add up when you’re going to the doctor once, twice
or three times per week.
“On top of that, you’ve still got to
keep the lights on at home and the air conditioner running so at 101 degrees in
the Texas heat you’re able to comfortably sit in your home when you’re not
feeling well,” says Rebecca Brian, Manager of Revenue Cycle. “All those things
add up and can make cancer care very, very expensive.”
A Team to Turn to for Help
Simmons Cancer Center patients have a team of people in their
corner ensuring their care will be as cost-effective as possible.
“We have a financial counseling team
to help patients understand their insurance, as well as a bunch of folks behind
the scenes who are working to make sure that our patients are maximizing their
benefits,” Brian says. “Sometimes that means helping them decide where the best
place for them to receive care is, and that’s not always UT Southwestern. If we
review a patient’s benefits and determine that we’re out of network, that may
put them at higher risk financially.”
The team at Simmons Cancer Center also
connects patients with medication- and copay-assistance programs.
“There are all kinds of programs
offered through drug manufacturers as well as foundations that patients might
not be aware of,” Brian says. “And then, once all of those things are in place
and approved, we process all of it on the patient’s behalf so they can feel
confident that once they get a bill from UT Southwestern, every program they
could possibly have qualified for, we’ve processed for them and whatever’s left
over is their responsibility.”
Help When You Need It
If need be, the support services team also can direct patients
toward programs to help with living expenses while they’re in treatment.
“We will connect patients to county-
and community-based resources, even if it’s not their medical expenses that are
concerning,” Huffman says. “Sometimes they need help paying for rent, electric
bills, gas to get back and forth to doctor appointments – those sorts of things.”
The financial care team at Simmons
Cancer Center has one of the most robust programs in the country. Lots of
cancer programs accept copay assistance cards and other discounts, but Simmons’
is one of the few that actually seeks out financial help for our patients. It’s
important that patients focus on healing during a time like this.
“Our financial care team’s goal is
ultimately to look out for the physical, the clinical, and the financial
well-being of the patient,” Brian says. “We want to try to minimize the cost of
care for the patient as much as we can. We work really hard to make sure we
don’t have anybody who is choosing to not have treatment because of cost.”
