Cancer care has always been high-priced, but treatment costs continue to climb, putting significant fiscal stress on patients, according to Bloomberg Business.
Here are five things to know about the state of cancer care costs, as presented by Bloomberg Business.
1. The rate of growth in treatment costs is rising. The American Society of Clinical Oncology discussed the cost issue at their annual meeting and highlighted a National Institutes of Health study that suggested treatment costs will grow 40 percent between 2010 and 2020, hitting a $175 billion mark, according to the report.
2. Increasing drug prices contribute significantly to the bill. A report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics indicates global spending on cancer medication will increase at a faster annual rate over the next three years, according to Bloomberg. The report expects oncology drug prices to rise 6 percent to 8 percent each year through 2018, compared to the 6.5 percent rate over the last five years. Some of the newest drug therapies come with a six figure price tag for a year supply, according to the report.
3. New drugs draw out the cost of care. Advances in medication are helping patients live longer, but are not curing cancer, therefore exacerbating costs. "The unfortunate reality is that many of these drugs represent advances, but so far most of these expensive drugs are not curing cancer," said Richard Schilsky, CMO of ASCO, according to the report.
4. Patients are shouldering a greater proportion of the cost. As deductibles and copays rise, patients must pay more out-of-pocket for cancer care. "People tend to think it's a problem for the lower socioeconomic class, but traditionally those individuals have more resources available to them," Kim Bell, an administrator at the Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute, told Bloomberg Business. "But it's really hard for the middle and upper-middle class because there are not that many people who can afford that kind of thing out of pocket." Some patients may receive bills as high as $50,000 a month, Ms. Bell said.
5. Providers need to develop strategies to better manage care and costs. Last week, ASCO proposed oncology payment reforms that would incentivize practices to manage patient care better. Hospitals like the Cleveland Clinic are also helping patients understand their insurance better and discuss out-of-pocket expenses from the beginning, according to the report.
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