The Costs of Cancer, Addressing Patient Costs is the first ACS CAN report to examine the costs of treating cancer, and specifically the out-of-pocket portion patients face. Using three hypothetical patient profiles, the report looks at costs for three of the most common cancers—breast, lung, and colorectal under three types of insurance—employer-sponsored, Medicare, and an individual exchange plan.

Key report findings include:

• U.S. cancer patients paid nearly $4 billion in out-of-pocket costs in 2014, and the disease cost the country $87.8 billion in cancer-related health care spending.
• A lower-premium insurance plan may not actually save cancer patients money in the long run. These types of plans often have high cost-sharing and cancer patients are high utilizers of care.
• Even with insurance, cancer patients often face unpredictable or unmanageable costs including high co-insurance, high deductibles, having to seek out-of-network care, and needing a treatment that is not covered by their health plan.

The report also provides public policy recommendations for making cancer treatments more affordable for patients and survivors.