Wednesday, April 27, 2016

What about cost? Will my insurance cover it?

While patients cover some of the expenses, government agencies or pharmaceutical companies typically absorb the majority of the costs.

It’s important to get insurance and cost questions answered before deciding to take part in a clinical trial. In the past, insurers were sometimes reluctant to pay for any of the costs of care given in a clinical trial. Their concern was that they’d be paying for treatments that had not been proven to work. Some health insurance plans also defined the care given in a clinical trial as “experimental” or “investigational” and didn’t want to cover the costs of what was really routine care – care that you would have needed even if you were not taking part in a clinical trial.


When insurers do cover costs related to clinical trials, it’s usually only for tests, treatments, or doctor’s visits that would have been part of your treatment plan if you weren’t taking part in a study. In other words, they aren’t required to pay for special tests or treatments you need just because you’re in the study.

Government Funding
The 2007 budget for the NCI was about $4.9 billion. Overall funding for clinical trials for cancer research that year was $843.7 million. In 2010, the total funding for clinical trials was slightly larger: $852.2 billion.
In 2011, there were 188 clinical trials actively looking for participants or recently completed in the area of mesothelioma research. Sixty-five of those trials were funded by the NIH, two by the U.S. Department of Defense, 53 by pharmaceutical and biomedical companies and 70 by universities, cancer centers, hospitals and research organizations in the U.S. and abroad.
In addition, private donations may also help cover the costs of a mesothelioma clinical trial. For example, the University of Hawaii Cancer Center received a $3.58 million gift from an anonymous donor for mesothelioma research in 2011.

Patient Costs
These patient costs may include transportation, doctor visits, hospital stays, laboratory tests, X-rays and scans. Although some of these costs are often covered by health insurance, depending on the patient's policy. Some states have laws or special agreements that require health insurance companies to pay for routine care received in a clinical trial.
Additional costs related to clinical trials that may not be covered by health insurance policies can include extra tests, doctor and nurse expenses, and research and analysis fees, which must be paid for by the organization sponsoring the trial.

For patients over the age of 65, Medicare covers routine costs related to all government-sponsored phase II and III clinical trials.
Remember to speak with the sponsor of the clinical trial to understand what costs they cover. Also, consult with your health insurance company to determine what they will cover.

In most cases, when a patient volunteers for and enrolls in a clinical trial, the study sponsor provides the new treatment at no cost and pays for any special tests, procedures, or extra doctor visits. The sponsor of the clinical trial may be a government agency such as the National Cancer Institute, a drug company, biotechnology company, or some other agency. Some sponsors may pay for more; for example, some may offer to pay you back for travel time and mileage. It’s important to find out what will be paid for before you enter the study

The trial support for the most part pays for the expense of the mediation being considered (for instance, any medications not at present endorsed for your condition). The supporter may likewise pay for the expense connected with any uncommon testing or additional specialist visits that are required.

"Routine patient consideration expenses" are the typical expenses of restorative consideration, for example, specialist visits, healing facility stays, clinical research center tests and x-beams that you would get regardless of whether you were taking an interest in a clinical trial. Some wellbeing arrangements may not take care of these expenses once you join a trial, despite the fact that studies have demonstrated that they are not apparently higher than expenses for patients who are not enlisted in trials. You will recognize what will be secured and what may not be secured preceding starting any treatment. What's more, in the condition of California, Medicare and most HMO protection arrangements are required to cover clinical trials for disease patients. Again you will know your full scope before starting treatment.

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