Cancer Patients' Dilemma: Expensive Pills or Invasive Chemo Treatment

Cancer patient Jere Carpentier would prefer taking a pill to having intravenous chemotherapy in a doctor’s office. But she and other people like her are being denied access to newer oral chemotherapy drugs or are required to shoulder hefty out-of-pocket costs. The problem? The IV treatments are covered under a patient’s medical plan but the pills are paid for by a patient’s drug plan, which tends to be far less generous. (Producer: Renato Perez)

Related Article: A Bitter Pill To Swallow

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<h1>Cancer Patients’ Dilemma: Expensive Pills or Invasive Chemo Treatment</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2010-04-27T00:00:00-04:00">
			April 27, 2010		</time>
		</div>
<p>Cancer patient Jere Carpentier would prefer taking a pill to having intravenous chemotherapy in a doctor’s office. But she  and other people like her  are being denied access to newer oral chemotherapy drugs or are required to shoulder hefty out-of-pocket costs. The problem? The IV treatments are covered under a patient’s medical plan but the pills are paid for by a patient’s drug plan, which tends to be far less generous. (Producer: <strong>Renato Perez</strong>)</p><p>      <strong>Related Article:</strong> <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/legacy/7660E59B-DB50-4526-B0F1-012FF2CF0DC5">A Bitter Pill To Swallow</a></p><ul><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/042710-cancer-patients-dilemma/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/042710-cancer-patients-dilemma/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/042710-cancer-patients-dilemma/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Cancer%20Patients%27%20Dilemma%3A%20Expensive%20Pills%20or%20Invasive%20Chemo%20Treatment&body=https%3A%2F%2Fkffhealthnews.org%2Fnews%2F042710-cancer-patients-dilemma%2F&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/042710-cancer-patients-dilemma/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/042710-cancer-patients-dilemma/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/042710-cancer-patients-dilemma/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org">KFF Health News</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://kffhealthnews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=11132&amp;ga4=G-J74WWTKFM0" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p>

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