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Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
Governor Beshear Signs Legislation to Assist Cancer Patients
FRANKFORT, Ky. – Gov. Steve Beshear today signed legislation that will ease costs for cancer patients taking part in clinical trials.
Senate Bill 18, sponsored by Sen. Julie Denton of Louisville, prohibits health care plans from denying coverage of routine health care costs incurred as a part of clinical trials for cancer, assuming the same services would have been covered if not part of a cancer clinical trial. This routine care includes costs such as doctor visits, hospital stays, and tests or treatments that a patient would have received even if they were not taking part in a trial.
“The important role clinical trials play in cancer treatment and research cannot be understated,” said Gov. Beshear. “Far too often, the designation of these trials as ‘experimental’ leads health insurance companies to deny coverage of the routine portions of patient care. This bill ensures that the often onerous burden of basic health care costs incurred during treatment is lifted off of cancer patients.”
According to the American Cancer Society, lack of insurance coverage can keep patients who might want to be in a clinical trial from taking part in it. In one survey, 60 percent of patients said they feared having their insurance denied as a major reason for not signing up to take part in a clinical trial.
“This bill ensures that the citizens of the Commonwealth have access to potentially life saving treatment for cancer,” said Sen. Denton.
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