Clinical trials are the backbone of progress in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Trials for the treatment of ovarian cancer have led to many years of increased survival in patients with this disease and, when a trial is available for patients, we believe that the standard of care is to offer such a trial to that patient. Missouri recently enacted a law stating that insurance companies must pay for Phase III and Phase II clinical trials for patients in the state of Missouri. One would think that this should make clear to insurance carriers the path that they should take.

Unfortunately, I am finding that this is not the case. Many patients are being denied the opportunity to participate in clinical trials because their insurance company is based outside of Missouri or, worse, because it is considered a Co-op.

A case in point: One of my patients recently was eligible for a trial and she wanted to participate. The trial is far enough along that we know that it is beneficial and it actually would have been cheaper for the insurer to allow the patient to participate in the trial, as the drugs were free. Surprisingly, the company was a University of Missouri holding company and as such was able to deny this patient her opportunity to participate in the trial. It shocks me that a state-held company would be exempt from the law of the State. In my mind this is unconscionable. We have appealed my patient’s case and, so far, we have failed to convince the company that the patient should be allowed to go on this trial.

This sort of thing is happening more and more. The only recourse we have is to:

• Make an appeal through the usual mechanisms allowed by that company.
• File a complaint with the Missouri Department of Insurance.
• Notify the local media.
• Notify your local legislator so that these loopholes can be closed.
• Advocate for the rights of all cancer patients to participate in trials.

Thank you for your support.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 at 1:30 pm and is filed under Ask The Doctor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.