Wisconsin Coalition for Cancer Treatment Access
WCCTA
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Help ensure access to cancer treatment in Wisconsin!
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What YOU Can Do:
Write a letter or send an email to your state legislator urging him/her to support efforts to ensure access to cancer treatment by supporting the Oral Oncology Parity bill in 2011. To find out who represents you in Madison, click on "Contact Your Legislator" above or visit www.legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspxor call 1-800-362-9472.Tell others about the issue and prepare to shareyour story with legislators when the bill is introducedin January.Use your VOICE to ensure cancer treatment access for Wisconsin patients!
Being told you have cancer is hard, but being unable to afford treatment is worse. Out of pocket costs for oral chemotherapy can be completely unmanageable. Thats why in 2011 the Wisconsin Legislature will consider a bill requiring health plans to cover the cost of oral chemotherapy the same as they cover the cost of traditional chemotherapyalleviating much of the patients cost burden and ensuring cancer patients have access to life-saving drugs. Already nine states and the District of Columbia have passed similar laws. Many of the emerging and most effective cancer therapies are available only in pill form Patients should not have face extra costs because they receive their treatment as a pill instead of intravenously.
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The WCCTA will work to make sure that cancer patients in Wisconsin have equal access to the chemotherapy treatment recommended by their physician as the most-effective therapy to fight their cancer-regardless of how it is administered. Currently, some patients are forced to bear a larger share of the cost for oral oncology therapies, while the same health plans provide more substantial coverage for infused therapies. WCCTA will work to provide equal treatment.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Background IssueIntravenous/infused anti-cancer medications are typically covered under a health plan's medical benefit. In this situation, patients are usually required to pay an office visit co-payment and are not required to pay a separate fee for the drug. Orally-administered anticancer medications, however, are typically covered under a health plan's pharmacy benefit. Under the pharmacy benefit, oral anticancer medications are often classified in the highest tier of a health plans cost-sharing system requiring patients to pay higher co-payments, which can sometimes be a percentage of the drugs cost. This disparity restricts patient access to life-saving oral cancer therapies. As a result, states are increasingly seeking to eliminate this disparity through legislation. The way we treat cancer is changing. Oral cancer therapies are the wave of the future. To the benefit of patients, exciting advancements are being made in cancer treatment and care. Advancements are allowing us to selectively target cancer cells and deliver agents that directly interfere with the cancer cells survival. These targeted agents generally require continuous exposure to the medication, for which oral therapies are well-suited. Today, oral oncology therapies comprise about 10% available therapies. It is estimated that 25-35% of the medications in the oncology development pipeline are oral therapies. This will result in an increased number of options for patients, but antiquated health insurance benefit designs currently can create burdens to patient access of these oral therapies. State legislatures around the nation are taking action to ensure access to all cancer therapies. Oregon enacted the first oral cancer drug access law in 2007. In 2009, 26 states and the District of Columbia introduced oral cancer drug access legislation. Including Oregon, 14 states have enacted legislation to achieve oral chemotheraphy access. The states include: Indiana, Iowa, Vermont, Hawaii, Kansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Connecticut, New Mexico, Washington, Texas, Illinois, New York, as well as the District of Columbia. Patient advocacy organizations which have advocated for the legislation include the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the International Myeloma Foundation and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR
Who is my Legislator? Click here.
Write a letter or send an email to your state legislator urging him/her to support efforts to ensure access to cancer treatment by supporting the Oral Oncology Parity bill in 2011. To find out who represents you in Madison, visit www.legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx or call 1-800-362-9472.Tell others about the issue and prepare to share your story with legislators when the bill is introducedin January.Use your VOICE to ensure cancer treatment access for Wisconsin patients!
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Local and National News Stories
Advocates Say Oral Chemo Bill Ignored (Leader-Telegram, December 10, 2011)
Insurance Loophole on Cancer Treatments Sticks Patients with Extreme Cost (Washington Post, November 16, 2011)
New Pill Shows Great Promise in Non-Smokers' Lung Cancer (USA Today, June 7, 2010)
Cancer Patients' Dilemma: Expensive Pills Vs. Invasive Chemo Treatment (Kaiser Health News, April 27, 2010)
As Pills Treat Cancer, Insurance Lags Behind (New York Times, April 15, 2009)
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