Cancer affects a person's physical, emotional and financial health. Given the impact on patients and the people of their lives – including their employers – it’s time for CEOs to take note and take motion to cut back the burden of cancer.
In one American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network studyNearly half of cancer patients and survivors reported being extremely burdened by medical debt. Many respondents had a negative balance of not less than $5,000 have been affected by their cancer treatment for greater than a yr, and 42% of individuals with cancer Use up your life savings throughout the first two years of diagnosis.
Cancer-related financial hardships also can contribute to “financial toxicity“, with the cost of treatment forcing individuals to make compromises that impact their chances of survival. These can include non-biological factors Such as eliminating or halving cancer medications to expand their supply, or not being able to complete cancer treatment as planned due to the high cost of transportation to or lodging near cancer treatment centers. This model is not sustainable and increasing costs The introduction of new, life-saving cancer treatments will impose additional financial burdens – and pose an ever-increasing threat to patients' lives.
The financial toxicity of cancer treatment not only impacts the individual, but can also negatively impact employers. As a provider of health insurance coverage for almost half of the countryEmployers and unions bear much of the financial burden of cancer. Today, Cancer is the largest cost factor in healthcare for medium and large companies in the US, and the burden is growing.
For the first time in history more than 2 million In 2024, Americans will receive a new cancer diagnosis. While the increasing incidence of cancer is partly due to our aging population (the risk of cancer increases with age), we are also seeing a troubling national trend There are 17 serious cancers diagnosed in younger people. These are people who would likely still be working and using employer-sponsored health insurance. This leaves employers wondering what they can do to reduce the burden of cancer on their population – and their bottom line.
Patients, families and employers all “win” when cancers are diagnosed at an early stage. Not only detect cancer early improves the probabilities of survivalit clearly reduces care costs. Overall, the price of treatment for somebody diagnosed at stage IV – when the cancer has spread throughout the body – is on average $156,000 higher than those diagnosed at stage I, when the disease is localized. The first yr of treatment for colon cancer affected over 150,000 Individuals yearly within the United States and is on the rise in younger population groups it costs on average $111,000 when diagnosed in stage I with roughly a 90% 5 yr survival rate. In contrast, stage IV colon cancer increases the common cost of treatment $256,000 in the primary yr and the five-year survival rate is under 20%. There is evidence that cancer mortality rates would decrease if only individuals could make the most of the prevention, early detection, and cancer treatment strategies that exist today 30% to 50%.
These statistics are sound and strongly suggest that concerted efforts by employers and individuals to advertise cancer prevention and early detection would improve health and reduce healthcare costs. Today, screening is our greatest tool for achieving this. Adherence to beneficial screening guidelines – like this one published from ACS – could save the US healthcare system $26 billion per yr to avoided treatment costs.
Despite the importance of early detection and the proven advantages of screening, access to prevention stays a barrier to improved outcomes. Currently, a staggering 65% of eligible Americans haven’t received beneficial cancer screenings. Covid-19 restrictions delayed or prevented 9.4 million Cancer screenings in 2020 alone, which can likely result in Later stage diagnoses that may normally have been caught sooner.
There are also logistical and societal hurdles that contribute to financial burdens and impact an individual's ability to get screened. In order to attend a screening appointment, people might have to take day off work or arrange childcare. They might have to weigh potential future medical costs against their rent payment obligations. Some might not be consciously You have the precise to be screened, and stigma and fear surrounding cancer screening prevent some people from searching for treatment. Injustices at your personal discretion socioeconomic status – including where they live, their income, their level of education, their access to health care and healthy foods, and other social determinants of health – create barriers to prevention. To realize the advantages of early detection for people and organizations, it can be crucial that we develop recent strategies to deal with these barriers.
ACS is committed to fighting cancer and tackling the challenge of improving access to health care and reducing financial toxicity from multiple perspectives. Similar or supportive actions by U.S. employers will increase our collective contribution to combating the burden of cancer.
Towards the goal of improving early detection, ACS recently partnered with Color Health in a three way partnership to enhance access to health screening and care by employers and unions. By making it easier and more convenient for workers to access care – with at-home testing kits and care navigation support throughout their cancer journey – this program goals to extend awareness, accessibility and affordability of cancer screening and early detection. Notably, organizations using the ACS Color program saw a 77% increase in cancer screening compliance.
In addition to direct screening initiatives, there are programs resembling Path to recovery And ACS Hope Lodges Eliminating the price burden of transportation and accommodation for cancer treatment. Further partnerships through BrightEdgethe donor-funded innovation and investment arm of ACS, provides access to a broad range of solutions to assist people address the financial complexities of cancer across the continuum of care. A BrightEdge portfolio company, Tailor Medprovides a platform to assist patients find resources to cover treatment costs and reduce out-of-pocket costs. Further investments aim to bring the patient voice into therapy and diagnostic development to enable a future generation of sustainable cancer innovations that reduce patient financial hardship.
Advocacy can be key to reducing financial toxicity. The ACS Cancer Action Network is committed to this Medicaid expansion to make it easier for people who find themselves currently uninsured to access screening and care. To reduce prescription drug costs, ACS CAN has also successfully advocated for “smoothing,” a policy that permits Medicare enrollees to spread their prescription drug costs all year long. By making payments more manageable for patients, we’re eliminating a critical element of the financial challenge of cancer.
Cancer may have an impact every second woman and each third man sooner or later of their lives. By facilitating guidance-recommended screenings and activating programs that make early detection reasonably priced and accessible, employers can offset financial burdens and improve outcomes for people across the country. When employers help their employees get screenings, they create us one step closer to eradicating cancer – and its costs – as we realize it.
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