Make new chemo drugs more accessible by passing the Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act

Cancer is a sword of Damocles hanging over everyone’s head. It could strike us or a loved one at any time. For many of us it already has.

Now for the good news: Due to medical breakthroughs in recent years, including more targeted and effective chemotherapies, most cancers are survivable. With the right chemotherapy treatments, it is now possible to live a flourishing life following a cancer diagnosis. The death rate for cancer has fallen by 26 percent since 1991, resulting in 2.4 million lives saved.

Unfortunately, there is a catch. The biggest barrier to successful cancer treatment today often isn’t the existence of the right treatment, but the access to it. Due to a quirk in how Medicare and private insurance plans cover cancer drugs, chemotherapy in the preferred pill form costs patients thousands of dollars a month whereas intravenous drugs administered in a hospital or oncologist’s office may only require a small copay. Passing the Cancer Drug Coverage Parity Act, currently before Congress, would help improve accessibility by eliminating this pricing disparity.

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