Financial toxicity, Part II: how can we help with the burden of treatment-related costs?

Janet is a 67-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer. Despite having insurance, Janet has been saddled with life-altering out-of-pocket expenses from her cancer treatment. In Part I of this two-part series, we described how Janet’s struggle with out-of-pocket expenses was not unique; a growing body of evidence has detailed the negative impact of costs on insured patients receiving cancer treatment.[1] The cost of cancer care, overall, is increasing. Innovations in therapy are more expensive now than ever before.[2] These innovations are less toxic than older drugs, so the elderly and frailer patients are more likely to get treated. And our population is aging—thus, more patients are being treated with more expensive drugs for longer periods. Due to the exorbitant price tag on cancer treatment, third-party payers have shifted a portion of costs to patients in the form of rising premiums, coinsurance, higher prescription drug copayments, and tiered drug formularies.