News Archive
The SCCA and the SC Alliance of Health Plans Celebrate Voluntary Agreement for Coverage for Cancer Trials
Posted: 5/18/2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick Dyer
patrick.dyer@lls.org
Columbia, S.C. - Legislators, patient advocates, health care provider organizations and the insurance industry came together today at the State House to celebrate an agreement that ensures the coverage of routine patient care costs for patients enrolled in phases II-IV cancer clinical trials. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have this coverage through either a state legislative mandate or a voluntary agreement between insurers and providers.
Clinical trials participation rates among adult cancer patients have been traditionally low. One major barrier to increasing the participation rate is the potential for a patient to lose insurance coverage for routine patient care when he or she enrolls in a clinical trial - a barrier removed today in South Carolina by the collaboration of the South Carolina Cancer Alliance and the SC Alliance of Health Plans.
"Nationally, just three to five percent of cancer patients enroll in clinical trials, a low number that we believe is often due to reimbursement barriers," said Andrew S. Kraft, MD, director of the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. "This agreement means that thousands of cancer patients can consider clinical trials as an option and not fear being denied because of the costs of standard procedures."
"The insurance industry is pleased that the providers have agreed to a negotiated rate to protect the cancer patients from expensive treatments. I applaud the legislative leadership that encouraged the parties to reach an agreement instead of passing a legislative mandate," said Larry C. Marchant, Jr., Executive Director of the SC Alliance of Health Plans. "This agreement is one of several collaborations with providers over the years. It shows what can be accomplished when providers and insurers commit to resolving complex health issues."
For patients fighting cancer, clinical trials are especially critical, as many of the most dramatic strides in cancer treatment have been made in a clinical trial setting. However, to continue these advances, access to these cutting-edge treatments must be increased for patients.
"Clinical trials often offer the best treatment available - and the best hope for a cure - for cancer patients fighting to defeat their disease and save their lives," said Don Simmons, Executive Director of the South Carolina Cancer Alliance. "Thanks to the strong leadership of Chairman David Thomas, Chairman Bill Sandifer and Senator Wes Hayes, we have increased access to these groundbreaking treatments for all South Carolinians."
The South Carolina Cancer Alliance played the role of negotiator with the SC Alliance of Health Plans to finalize the agreement.
Supporting Partners of the South Carolina Cancer Alliance include the American Cancer Society, Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC, the South Carolina Hospital Association, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the American Lung Association, the South Carolina Medical Association, the South Carolina Oncology Society, the South Carolina Ovarian Cancer Foundation and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.