via bigthink:

62 percent of cancer patients report being in debt due to their treatment. 55 percent accrue at least $10,000 in debt, while 3 percent file for bankruptcy. Cancer costs exceed $80 billion in America each year.

Rebecca Meyer was diagnosed with glioblastoma when she was 5 years old. She fought bravely for 10 months before dying on her 6th birthday. The total cost of of her treatments during that time? $1,691,627.45.

Cancer is costly, emotionally and socially. But it’s especially pricey in terms of money. The stress of being unable to pay for treatment doesn’t help your immune system while going through chemotherapy or radiation. It’s impossible to relieve yourself of tension when your medical costs are bankrupting you and your family.

This is more common than you might imagine. A new study, published this month in The American Journal of Medicine, discovered that 42 percent of patients deplete their life savings during the first two years of treatment. There’s good reason the term “financial toxicity” is in the name of this report.

Of the 9.5 million cancer diagnoses studied between 2000–2012, researchers discovered that 42.4 percent of patients (median age 68.6±9.4 years) spent all of their money, averaging $92,098. This follows disturbing news from earlier this year that 40 percent of Americans can’t afford to pay $400 in case of an emergency. The math is not adding up.

Financial toxicity led Fumiko Chino to co-write a research letter in JAMA Oncology last November. After her husband surpassed his insurance policy’s $500,000 lifetime limit, Chino drained her savings to pay for his treatment. When he died, she was left hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.In her study of 300 cancer patients, Chino and team discovered that over one-third of them had to pay more than expected for their care, which put a strain on their decision-making process.

Facing unexpected treatment costs was associated with lower willingness to pay for care, even when adjusting for financial burden. This suggests that unpreparedness for treatment-related expenses may impact future cost-conscious decision making.

A 2016 systematic review of 45 studies, published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that up to 62 percent of patients report being in debt due to treatment. Another study of over 4,700 patients from that year discovered that 55 percent accrued at least $10,000 in debt, while 3 percent filed for bankruptcy.

Cancer costs exceed $80 billion in America each year. Over half of all cancer patients “experienced house repossession, bankruptcy, loss of independence, and relationship breakdowns.” Up to 85 percent of patients have to stop working for up to six months, putting further strain on their finances.

Medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in America.

So for all of the people who say we have this great healthcare system and that they don’t have a better system in say Canada, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Australia and the rest of the developed world, how can you possibly think that when medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in this country?

Poster Comment:

Big Pharma does not want to either cure or to prevent disease.