WASHINGTON, D.C. -- July 31, 2009 --The deepest recession in decades has caused more than 7 million people to lose their jobs and in many cases their job-based health insurance a worrisome development for any American, but especially for those also grappling with cancer or other serious illnesses. A new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the American Cancer Society profiles six cancer patients and survivors and the challenges they face to help gauge how the recession is affecting workers who are most in need of ongoing medical care.
The report, Patients Under Pressure: Profiles of How Families Affected by Cancer are Faring in the Recession illustrates the kinds of problems such patients face in the midst of a recession, including:
* The obstacles to continuing coverage through COBRA;
* The difficulty in finding an insurer who will sell them non-group coverage;
* The limited availability of public coverage;
* The medical debt that patients can incur and the delays in care they often suffer if they are uninsured even for short periods of time.
The report is a follow up to Spending to Survive: Cancer Patients Confront Holes in the Health Insurance System (http://tinyurl.com/ny7erd), a joint project of the Foundation and the American Cancer Society released in February. Both reports draw upon the personal stories of patients selected to illustrate typical cases from the many people who call the American Cancer Society’s Health Insurance Assistance Service. The service, which has fielded calls from more than 25,000 people, helps families affected by cancer who encounter problems navigating the health care system.
Both reports and related materials can be viewed online at www.fightcancer.org and www.kff.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Steven Weiss
Phone: (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected]
Alissa Havens
Phone: (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected]