When cancer patients in Missouri are undergoing treatment, they deserve access to as many effective remedies as possible to give them the best chance for recovery. Due to insurance companies’ categorization of chemotherapy treatments, however, patients may face significantly higher out-of-pocket costs for oral chemotherapy medication.
While traditional chemotherapy is given intravenously, oral chemotherapy is taken in pill form. Doctors may prescribe oral chemotherapy for certain patients because it often has fewer side effects, including hair loss and nausea. Unfortunately, many patients are unable to fill their oral chemotherapy prescriptions because the monthly out-of-pocket cost can be thousands of dollars more.
House Bill 1327, which I co-sponsored, will rectify this disparity by requiring insurance plans that cover intravenous chemotherapies to also cover oral chemotherapies. The General Laws committee held a public hearing on this bill on Tuesday, February 4.
A recent actuarial study found that this change will not have any significant impact on the cost of premiums, but it will give Missourians fighting for their lives access to another treatment option.
Twenty-seven states and Washington DC have passed oral chemotherapy parity legislation since 2007. With broad bi-partisan support for this bill, I hope Missouri will become the next state to help cancer patients be able to afford to follow their doctors’ recommendations.
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Representative Sue Allen 