By John Salak –
Cancer can obviously take a substantial physical and emotional toll on patients and their families. The American Cancer Society (ACS), however, now reports that battling the disease also has a lasting financial impact on many working-age adults and their families in the United States.
An ACS study shows that a cancer diagnosis and the time required for its treatment can result in employment disruptions, loss of household income and loss of employment-based health insurance coverage, leading to financial hardship. These factors when combined with high out-of-pocket costs for cancer care mean that nearly 60 percent of working-age cancer survivors report will face at least one type of financial hardship, which could include being unable to afford medical bills or delaying or forgoing needed care because of cost.
“While the rising costs of cancer care and subsequent medical financial hardship for cancer survivors and families are well-documented in the United States, little attention has been paid to how employment and household income can be affected by a cancer diagnosis and treatment,” noted lead study author Dr. Robin Yabroff, ACS’s scientific vice president. “With nearly half of cancer survivors of working age and not yet age-eligible for Medicare coverage, understanding the potential effects of cancer diagnosis and treatment on employment, income, and access to employer-based health insurance coverage is essential.”
The ACS’s equation means the raw number of people put at risk of financial hardship every year from a cancer diagnosis is substantial. The National Cancer Institute, for example, reports that approximately 2 million individuals in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer annually. Breast, lung and bronchus, prostate and colorectal cancers account for almost 50 percent of all new cases. It is estimated that more than 600,000 people will die every year from the disease.
The new research used a composite patient case to illustrate the potential adverse consequences of cancer diagnosis and treatment, including employment disruptions while receiving cancer care; loss of income for unpaid time away from work; and loss of access to employment-based health insurance coverage, if unable to maintain employment. The ACS team also summarized existing research and provided nationally representative estimates of multiple aspects of financial hardship from 2019-2021, the most recently available years of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
Fortunately, there may be ways to help offset the financial distress of those diagnosed.
“There are opportunities for a variety of stakeholders to mitigate financial hardship and assist patients with cancer and their families,” Yabroff explained. “Federal, state and local policies can increase the availability of comprehensive and affordable health insurance coverage and ensure job protections for working adults.”
“Today’s findings reiterate the critical role access to affordable, quality care and paid family medical leave plays in reducing the financial toll of cancer on those diagnosed—particularly while they are of working age,” added Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
“A majority of cancer patients and survivors—74 percent—report being forced to miss work due to their illness, most of whom report missing more than four weeks of work, according to an ACS CAN study. No one should be forced to choose between their treatment and their employment. To truly protect patients from the high costs of cancer, Congress must enact paid family and medical leave as well as provide tangible options for affordable health coverage outside of employer-sponsored plans by making permanent the enhanced Marketplace subsidies that allow millions who otherwise have no affordable coverage option to enroll in Marketplace plans,” she stressed.
The ACS research team also emphasized that employers, cancer care delivery organizations and non-profit organizations can also help. Employers, for example, can offer robust coverage and benefits options, paid and unpaid leave and other workplace accommodations to help reduce employment disruptions and loss of income during cancer treatment. Cancer care providers can also contribute by screening patients for financial hardship, connecting them with relevant services, and making referrals for occupational medicine, rehabilitation care and physical therapy to facilitate return to work and usual activities during and after cancer treatment.
