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12/06/2016
ASCO Joins MSHO in Support of Michigan Oral Chemotherapy Fairness Legislation; Urges House to Act on SB 625
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world’s leading professional organization representing physicians and other healthcare providers who care for people with cancer, joins the Michigan Society of Hematology and Oncology (MSHO) in urging the Michigan House to take up Senate Bill 625 and pass it with no amendments during the lame-duck session. Passed by the MI Senate earlier this year, SB 625 would help ensure that cancer patients in Michigan can access oral anticancer drugs with no less favorable cost-sharing requirements than for intravenous drugs.
With the tremendous strides made in cancer treatment over the last decade, growing opportunities have emerged to treat cancer patients with oral and other self-administered medications rather than traditional IV chemotherapy or injected cancer drugs. In some instances, oral medications are the best or only choice of treatment for patients with cancer. Many health insurance plans, however, impose significantly higher cost-sharing requirements for oral cancer drugs than for traditional treatments, imposing a detrimental financial burden on patients who need access to these life-extending drugs for their cancer treatment. Moreover, studies document that the more patients pay out of pocket, the lower their compliance with oral medications.
Oral chemotherapy parity legislation to address this disparity has already been passed by 42 other states and the District of Columbia. MI is the only state in the Midwest that does not have such a law. With more than 40,000 members, ASCO’s mission is to ensure that all cancer patients have access to high-quality cancer care. We urge the Michigan House to act immediately to enact SB 625 without amendment to give Michigan’s cancer patients ready access to oral cancer treatments.
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