Her Health Insurance Doesn't Pay for her Cancer Medication

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-10-22-health-care_N.htm

Updated 18h 47m ago
By Nicole Gaudiano, Gannett Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Sharon Lantz has insurance but says she must pay for cancer medication out of pocket.

The North Wilmington realtor can afford her daily chemotherapy drug — if she buys it from India. But breast reconstruction surgery is beyond her budget.

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Lantz had insurance during two bouts with cancer in 2000 and 2006. During her first diagnosis, her insurance plan didn't offer an approved radiation oncology doctor in Delaware, forcing her to seek daily treatment for 12 weeks in Pennsylvania. Because she worked in New Jersey at the time, she spent considerable time driving in "a radiation fog," she said.

She was halfway through COBRA continuation coverage when her breast cancer recurred. Because insurers "don't like breast cancer," she said, she went with the only insurer who would take her. Between premiums, medication and deductibles, she estimated she and her husband, Jay, are paying about $30,000 a year in health care costs.

They have delayed their retirement and given up vacations. Buying her medication from India saves her $3,400 a year, but she can't complete breast reconstruction because she can't afford it.

"I'm left with the worst-looking torso," she said.

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