This month is our Cancer Awareness series. Need help figuring out everything your insurance will pay for if you have cancer? Our friends at the Cancer Support Community can help. Learn about the Cancer Insurance Checklist and more from CSC’s Cancer Policy Institute.

 Finding out you have cancer is overwhelming. There are a million decisions to make, and it’s a different experience for everyone. Trying to figure out what your health insurance covers is like maneuvering through a maze.  The Cancer Support Community, along with some great partners, make this task easier by providing a Cancer Insurance Checklist. Below please find their helpful info, and ease your stress so you can concentrate on getting better.

A New Guide to Finding and Evaluating Insurance Plans in the Marketplace/Exchange

New Cancer Insurance Checklist Will Help You Compare Plans

As implementation of the health reform law (the Affordable Care Act) continues, individuals who do not have insurance through an employer or government plan like Medicare or Medicaid will be required to purchase insurance on state-based Health Insurance Marketplaces, or Exchanges. Making decisions about insurance plans can be complex.  Insurance plan options in the Marketplaces will have varying coverage and cost-sharing scenarios.

Making Sense of the Health Insurance Options

The Cancer Support Community has participated in a unique partnership of 18 cancer and advocacy organizations to develop the Cancer Insurance Checklist.  The Checklist is designed to provide guidance on the issues that you — as a person with cancer, a history of cancer, or a high risk for cancer — should consider when shopping for insurance.  

Benefits of the Cancer Insurance Checklist

The Cancer Insurance Checklist arms you with the right questions to ask so you can evaluate and compare plans’ coverage for cancer-related services and the costs associated with that coverage.  Although you may not need all of the treatments in the Checklist, and there may be other treatments, costs or aspects of your care that you need to consider, the Checklist is a useful guide to help you find a plan that will meet your needs.

WHEN TO USE THE CHECKLIST: 

• If you will be purchasing insurance on your state’s Health Insurance Marketplace/Exchange
• If you have cancer, a history of cancer, or are at risk for cancer 
• When evaluating insurance plans 
• When discussing your insurance needs with your Navigator or Marketplace/ Exchange representative 
• When discussing your cancer care needs with your health care provider

 
To use the Checklist, simply fill in the 3 worksheets for each insurance plan you are considering. By doing so, you will be able to tell which insurance plan best fits your needs and your budget. In addition,  CancerInsuranceChecklist.org also provides helpful links to other resources related to cancer and insurance. 

Please share this helpful new tool with anyone who may need it.  You can share it via this page, or visit CancerInsuranceChecklist.org and share it on Facebook and Twitter.  If you need any assistance with cancer related issues, please call CSC’s Helpline at 1-888-793-9355. – See more at: http://www.cancersupportcommunity.org.