Law Benefiting Cancer Patients in Missouri Takes Effect January 1

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – December 26, 2014 – A new law to ensure Missouri cancer patients have access to the most effective cancer treatments takes effect on January 1, 2015. The new oral chemotherapy law will bring insurance coverage to both forms of chemotherapy – intravenous (IV) and pill (oral) form – requiring plans to have similar out-of-pocket costs for oral chemotherapy products if traditional chemotherapies are already covered.

“Affordable access to FDA-approved oral anticancer medications will save countless lives for patients fighting cancer,” said Stacy Reliford, Missouri government relations director for ACS CAN. “Most oral treatments do not have IV substitutes. This new law ensures that patients will no longer be forced to absorb thousands of dollars per month in out-of-pocket expenses or forgo treatment.”

Oral anti-cancer medications are the future of cancer treatment. In 2014, half of all FDA-approved oncological treatments were oral medications. For several types of cancer, oral chemotherapy is the most effective and sometimes the only form of treatment. This law will ensure that cancer patients will no longer face a greater financial burden to access potentially life-saving medication.

Oral medication can be taken at home and patients often experience fewer severe side effects, which leads to fewer trips to the doctor’s office or hospital – an added benefit for Missourians who live in rural areas or those without adequate support networks.

“My husband’s oncologist recommended he start on an oral chemo treatment when his kidney cancer spread to his lungs in 2013,” said Ruth Pirch, caregiver to her husband, George, who was initially diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2000.  “Being on a fixed retirement, we couldn’t afford that treatment because it was not covered by our insurance, but all that changes with Missouri’s new oral chemotherapy fairness law. Many others like us who could not afford the thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses will now be able to get the best treatment available as they fight this disease.”  

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Missouri, accounting for almost one in four deaths. In 2014, an estimated 34,000 Missourians were diagnosed with cancer, and nearly 13,000 people in the state lost their battle with the disease.

“Oral chemotherapy offers an opportunity to dramatically improve the quality of life for many cancer patients,” said Representative Sheila Solon (R-31), House bill sponsor. “This legislation will increase access to life-saving chemotherapy drugs for thousands of people in Missouri.”

As of January 1, Missouri joins 33 other states, including Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and the District of Columbia in enacting this important legislation.

ACS CAN thanks the oral oncology bill sponsors, Senator Ryan Silvey (R-17) and Rep. Solon, and Gov. Jay Nixon, who signed the bill into law in March.

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem.  ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.

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