Treatment
Health Insurance Poses a Hurdle for Many AYA Survivors
Obtaining health insurance can be a major challenge for survivors of AYA cancers. And the importance of having insurance is becoming clearer. A recent study led by Dr. Jackie Casillas of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, for example, found that adult survivors of childhood cancers without health insurance were much less likely to receive general preventive care or cancer survivorship-focused care than survivors their age with private or public insurance.
Many will "age out" of coverage under their parents' insurance, noted Dr. Smita Bhatia of City of Hope Cancer Center, and, because of their health history, many are priced out of the private insurance market.
Although survivors can often obtain insurance through school or work, even these routes can be difficult, explained Dr. Julia Rowland, director of NCI's Office of Cancer Survivorship. She noted that "these policies can be quite limited, especially when it comes to the high costs of dealing with a serious illness that calls for close monitoring and can result in chronic health challenges over time."
In addition, because many survivors suffer late effects, including cognitive deficiencies, "completing school and getting a job can be a major challenge," Dr. Bhatia said.
For Matt Sasaki, 21, of Sacramento, CA, a leukemia survivor, the chronic pain caused by avascular necrosis, a deteriorative bone condition, has altered his life in ways he hadn't imagined. "[The avascular necrosis] is so painful and distressing, I am not in school or working," he explained. Insurance issues, he continued, have limited his ability to seek treatment.
The health care reform law enacted last year should help some AYAs dealing with late effects, Dr. Rowland noted. Under the Affordable Care Act, for example, young adults up to age 26 can remain on their parents' health insurance plans. The portability and pre-existing conditions provisions in the law "can also help to reduce the number of AYAs who might otherwise be without insurance," she said.
—Carmen Phillips
Reposted from NCI Cancer Bulletin http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/072611/page2
Obtaining health insurance can be a major challenge for survivors of AYA cancers. And the importance of having insurance is becoming clearer. A recent study led by Dr. Jackie Casillas of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, for example, found that adult survivors of childhood cancers without health insurance were much less likely to receive general preventive care or cancer survivorship-focused care than survivors their age with private or public insurance.
Many will "age out" of coverage under their parents' insurance, noted Dr. Smita Bhatia of City of Hope Cancer Center, and, because of their health history, many are priced out of the private insurance market.
Although survivors can often obtain insurance through school or work, even these routes can be difficult, explained Dr. Julia Rowland, director of NCI's Office of Cancer Survivorship. She noted that "these policies can be quite limited, especially when it comes to the high costs of dealing with a serious illness that calls for close monitoring and can result in chronic health challenges over time."
In addition, because many survivors suffer late effects, including cognitive deficiencies, "completing school and getting a job can be a major challenge," Dr. Bhatia said.
For Matt Sasaki, 21, of Sacramento, CA, a leukemia survivor, the chronic pain caused by avascular necrosis, a deteriorative bone condition, has altered his life in ways he hadn't imagined. "[The avascular necrosis] is so painful and distressing, I am not in school or working," he explained. Insurance issues, he continued, have limited his ability to seek treatment.
The health care reform law enacted last year should help some AYAs dealing with late effects, Dr. Rowland noted. Under the Affordable Care Act, for example, young adults up to age 26 can remain on their parents' health insurance plans. The portability and pre-existing conditions provisions in the law "can also help to reduce the number of AYAs who might otherwise be without insurance," she said.
—Carmen Phillips
Reposted from NCI Cancer Bulletin http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/072611/page2