Sens. Moran, Smith Push to Lower Cost of Cancer Treatments
U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced bipartisan legislation to make certain patients who receive oral medications are not hit with thousands of dollars in unaffordable out-of-pocket costs that health plans routinely cover for patients receiving traditional IV chemotherapy treatments.
The senators’ Cancer Drug Parity Act responds to the recent improvements in oral medications for cancer by preventing insurers from charging cancer patients higher copayments for those medications than for chemotherapy medicine delivered intravenously. An estimated 2 million Americans will be are diagnosed with cancer this year. A study on patients prescribed oral cancer medications found that one in eight patients faced copayments of $2,000 or more for their first prescription.
“As the number of orally administered cancer drugs increases each year, patients ought to be able to immediately benefit from these medical advancements,” said Sen. Moran. “This sensible legislation would encourage ERISA health insurance plans to remain on pace with the latest cancer treatments and expand access to orally administered cancer drugs for millions of individuals. Access to new treatments, therapies and cures will help save lives.”