Question

Lung cancer care accounts for 20% of Medicare's total expenditures for cancer. Approximately $13 billion was spent on Lung Cancer care in the U.S. in 2014. Do you think it's fair that the government (Medicare) and private insurance companies must pay for the care and treatment for patients with lung cancer caused by smoking? Offer a possible solution.

Answer 1

Solution:

Yes Medicare and health insurance play a major role in patient health condition and for care and treatment of patient.

Cancer is one of the most expensive medical condition in United states. The rising cost of lung cancer care have important implication among patient.

Patient who do not have health insurance may be responsible for entire cost of treatment. So health insurance coverage is a strong patient level predictor of having a usual source of health care, preventive service and diagnosis and effective treatment of chronic condition.

Medicare and Health insurance has primary function of protecting individual against unexpected financial risk. Even though health insurance protect against from financial risk they may experience barrier to high quality care because of high annual premium, high deductible were patient must pay out of pocket before insurance coverage begin, and high cost of treatment .

Some measure taken in policy changes will reduce the cost of cancer treatment and discourage the use of low value cancer intervention.

• Such as lowering cost of drug by price negotiation, aligning price based on quality of evidence and supporting trial testing cheaper alternative to expensive treatment strategies.
• Some of most effective cancer control intervention include counselling regarding healthy habits and preventive care and provided within primary Care by health care provider. Other cancer control intervention include high quality cancer screening treatment, survivorship, end of life care require effective coordination.
• Evidence based clinical guidelines define the elements ofhigh quality care.
• Cost transparency availability of financial consellor in hospital and elimination of low value practice are strong measure that hospital can employ to address financial burden.
• Increase awareness of low value practice and financial toxicity of cancer treatment is necessary among physician and patient.