Help TO COVER INSURANCE CO-PAYMENTS FOR TREATMENT

HELP AVAILABLE TO MORE CANCER PATIENTS UNABLE TO COVER INSURANCE CO-PAYMENTS FOR TREATMENT


NEW YORK, January 5, 2010 — Cancer patients who have health insurance but cannot meet their insurance co-payments for their treatments can receive financial help from the CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation.

"Many patients are not aware that co-payment assistance is available," says CancerCare's Chief Executive Officer Helen Miller. "We are reaching out to patients and health care professionals to help us get the word out about the financial help we can provide."

As the costs of many cancer therapies have risen, so, too, have insurance co-payments - that is, the portion of the cost of treatment that an insurance policy does not cover. For too many individuals and families, they simply cannot afford to pay the hundreds or even thousands of dollars every month from their own pockets to cover the co-payments for their treatment, presenting a formidable obstacle to care.

The Foundation was created to help address this dilemma. Launched in April 2008 as a separate arm of the national non-profit CancerCare, the privately funded Foundation has already assisted thousands of individuals across the U.S. with co-payment relief.

"This type of support can make all the difference in helping patients comply with treatment and get the care they need," said Miller.

In late 2009, the Foundation expanded its list of to cover seven diagnoses. Those are:

Breast cancer
Colorectal cancer
Head and neck cancer
Glioblastoma
Non-small cell lung cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Renal cell cancer
Patients must also meet certain financial and treatment criteria. To learn more, visit www.cancercarecopay.org or call 1-866-55-COPAY.