Navigation

Poll

What age where you diagnosed with breast cancer?

User login

Breast Cancer Without Health Insurance - Where to Get Help

Share |
It can be difficult to fight breast cancer without insurance

It is all well and good to tell women they should have annual mammograms starting at age 40, and to make an immediate appointment to see a doctor if they find a lump or other abnormality in their breast at any age. But unfortunately, there are millions of American women who do not have adequate – or any – health insurance to cover their medical costs, including many woman who need screening mammograms to help detect breast cancer in its early stages, others who have found a lump that needs to be checked out, and others who have already been diagnosed with breast cancer and need to begin treatment as soon as possible.

For women who need screening, or who need help to be able to afford their breast cancer treatments, financial assistance is available that can help ease the burden. It may not be enough to meet the needs of everyone, but it is enough to help make the difference for a lot of families who otherwise would not have the opportunity to protect their loved ones from the potential scourge of breast cancer.

Government Help
Medicare is usually reserved for those 65 an older. However, Medicare also has what is known as a “compassionate allowance,” which grants eligibility for early coverage to those suffering from certain types of disabilities or serious diseases. Anyone whose breast cancer has metastasized and spread beyond the breast can qualify for a compassionate allowance but unfortunately, this is only for late stage cancers when costs are high but hopes are fading. Medicare Part D provides help with prescription drug payments, so this is a further benefit for those over 65 who need chemotherapy or other drug therapy for breast cancer.

Medicaid will cover screening, diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer. However, it usually operates under the auspices of the Federal Center for Disease Control’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). This program provides low-income, uninsured women access to screening and diagnostic testing at specially approved facilities. If breast cancer should happen to be found, Medicaid can then cover treatment for those who meet the eligibility requirements for this program.

Even if eligibility for Medicaid cannot be established, however, women diagnosed through the NBCCEDP can still get financial help from the government under funds provided through the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2001. It is critical that the diagnosis of breast cancer was obtained through an NBCCEDP-approved facility, however, because otherwise coverage will be denied. Things are not so strict with Medicaid. While it is generally the rule that diagnosis should have come from such a facility, some states have separate Medicaid programs for breast cancer victims that are more liberal in this regard.

While 8 to 11% of American women are eligible to use the NBCCEDP system, this is a significantly underused resource – only about 14% of women between the ages of 40 and 64 who could have their breast cancer treatment costs taken care of through the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act are actually taking advantage of this opportunity.

Low-Cost/No-Cost Mammograms and Further Treatment
There are many health care providers who offer low or no cost screening mammograms and other health tests for women who do not have insurance and cannot afford to pay full prices. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is the primary source to contact to find the locations of these service programs.

In addition, public hospitals, and some non-profit private hospitals, offer breast cancer screening and diagnostic services free of charge, and may occasionally have charity care or indigent care programs to help cover the costs of treatment as well. The 203 hospitals scattered across the country that receive construction funding from the Department of Health and Human Services also are required by law to provide free and reduced cost health services to those suffering from breast cancer and other illnesses. Some states have special subsidized health insurance plans for those who cannot afford private plans, and anyone lucky enough to live in one of these states may be able to get health insurance that will cover all of their breast cancer related expenses.

Finally, private foundations such as the famous Susan G. Komen for the Cure often have grants available for breast cancer treatment, as well as programs to help pay for breast cancer screening. There is not enough philanthropic funding to go around of course, but nevertheless this is a source for funding and services that has helped a lot of women not just in the United States but around the world obtain breast cancer-related services.

Help for Drug Costs
Most large pharmaceutical companies have programs to help low-income people purchase their medications at low prices. But this is just one source of assistance for those who need financial help to afford medicines prescribed by doctors to aid in their fight against breast cancer.

Some other sources for drug help, in the form of payouts or discounts, include:

  • The CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation
  • The HealthWell Foundation
  • Together Rx Access
  • The Partnership for Prescription Assistance

Help is Available: But is it Enough?
Fortunately, there is a lot of financial help both private and public available for woman seeking protection against or treatment for breast cancer. However, because most of this help is available only for those from low-income families, there are many uninsured working class and lower middle-class woman who fall between the cracks and are not getting the financial help they need to pay for their breast cancer-related health care costs. We can only hope that the continuing attempts to change and improve our health care system by providing affordable insurance for everyone will ultimately be successful.

In the meantime, there is help available that is not being fully utilized and any woman dealing with financial burdens related to the costs of treating breast cancer, or who simply wants to protect herself against the threat of this disease should call their local health and human services office or the social services department at the nearest hospital to ask for guidance and assistance.

Related Articles: 
Early Detection Tips to Help Prevent Breast Cancer
Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer

Add new comment

More information about text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.