As federal lawmakers begin serious work on our nation's finances, our elected officials must consider the negative impact spending cuts and reforms to the Medicare program will have on patients.
Those of us who fight every day against leukemia, lymphoma and other cancers are watching and worrying for good reason.Cuts to Medicare will reduce access to healthcare providers and affordable quality medicines for the millions of Americans who rely on this critical program.Spending cuts that negatively affect patient access to care will exacerbate the problems of rising healthcare costs and illness.The latest statistics show that seniors 65 and older account for more than 750,000 of the estimated 1.4 million new cancer cases each year. The incidence of cancer among the elderly is 10 times as high as for those under age 65, a finding that holds true across racial and ethnic groups.And according to estimates from the National Cancer Institute, Medicare accounts for 45 percent of all spending on cancer treatment. With more than 44 million Medicare beneficiaries, 37 million of them 65 and older, Medicare is an extremely important payer for people with cancer.Treating cancer patients involves an extensive set of healthcare services, including chemotherapy and prescription drugs.These long-term treatments place a great financial burden on patients because of the cost-sharing associated with care, even if they are insured privately or through public programs like Medicare and Medicaid.All cancer patients must have access to the anti-cancer regimens recommended by their physicians and should not suffer from cost discrimination in the type of therapy provided, the mechanism of delivery or whether the patient is enrolled in a publicly or privately funded health plan.Cancer, regardless of the form or the location in the body, requires immediate and accurate treatment to give the patient the best chance of surviving. Cuts to Medicare and specifically to the Part D program could lead to cancer patients failing to receive that immediate and most effective treatment.Cutting access to the best therapies will lead to worse outcomes for the patient.And, with cancer, a worse outcome usually leads to a shorter life.If reimbursement cuts for crucial medications or services mean that doctors stop accepting Medicare patients, sick patients would have to travel greater distances or face reduced access to care, longer delays in treatment, increased readmittances and higher healthcare costs with less benefit.Cutting Medicare will hurt, not help, our nation's financial situation. Congress can address the federal deficit without placing the Medicare program and its most vulnerable seniors at risk.We all know someone who has faced cancer. We all know how hard it is to stop and beat back cancer. Those of us who have cancer or are affected by it hope our elected leaders understand this as well.Patricia R. Thomson, Ph.D., is executive director of the North Texas Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Patricia.Thomson@lls.orgHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
