Medicare paying more for cancer treatment
For anyone whose working in oncology these days, it should come as little surprise that Medicare payments for cancer are exploding. The study compared 2002 data to 1991 data — which means that the prescription drug benefit is not even factored in to these numbers. (Most cancer drugs would have been covered anyway prior to Medicare Part D because they were infusion drugs delivered in hospital or clinic settings. The new benefit would apply to some of the expensive, newer oral chemotherapy drugs and expensive anti-nausea drugs, however.)
Exactly how much did costs rise over approximately 11 years?
The researchers found that:
“Over the course of the study, the average cost for treating a lung cancer patient went up $7,139, to an average of $39,891. With prostate cancer, the average price tag for treatment went up $5,345, to an average of $41,134. The cost of treating breast cancer went up $4,189, to an average cost of $20,964. “
A few things changed with the way Medicare reimbursed cancer treatment over this time frame, but the general trend is worrisome — not only in terms of average price for treatment, but also in terms of aging demographics, a shift towards management of cancer as a chronic disease, and the popularity of newer drugs and agents that are astronomically expensive.
