None of this will be a surprise. A recent study from Duke University Medical Center found that even patients with "good" insurance or Medicare often face serious financial distress. You may have heard the newly coined term: financial toxicity. It is being discussed as factor in cancer patients' diminished quality of life right along with pain and side effects and other problems related to have the disease and undergoing treatment.

I surely am one of the fortunate ones with good insurance, but my deductibles and co-pays are much higher than they were a year ago. It seems a safe guess that they will increase even more in the next year. Suspect that is your situation, too. If you're lucky.

Here is the start of an article from Eureka Alert about this study:

Financial Distress in Cancer Care

More than one-third of insured cancer patients receiving treatment faced out-of-pocket costs that were greater than they expected and those patients with the most financial distress were underinsured, paying almost one-third of their income in health care-related costs, a research letter published by JAMA Oncology reports.

The financial burden of treating cancer is well known and even insured patients face financial burden and a worsened quality of life. Underinsured patients (those who spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care costs) are a growing group.

Fumiko Chino, M.D., of the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and coauthors conducted a survey of financial distress and cost expectations among 300 insured patients with cancer presenting for treatment at a comprehensive cancer center and three affiliated rural oncology clinics. Nearly all of the patients had private insurance or Medicare and the rest had Medicaid.

Read more: https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-08/tjnj-fdi080817.php

If you want to read the JAMA Oncology article, it is here:

http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2648318

More than one-third of insured cancer patients receiving treatment faced out-of-pocket costs that were greater than they expected and those patients with the most financial distress were underinsured, paying almost one-third of their income in health care-related costs, a research letter published by JAMA Oncology reports.

The financial burden of treating cancer is well known and even insured patients face financial burden and a worsened quality of life. Underinsured patients (those who spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care costs) are a growing group.

Fumiko Chino, M.D., of the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and coauthors conducted a survey of financial distress and cost expectations among 300 insured patients with cancer presenting for treatment at a comprehensive cancer center and three affiliated rural oncology clinics. Nearly all of the patients had private insurance or Medicare and the rest had Medicaid.

More than one-third of insured cancer patients receiving treatment faced out-of-pocket costs that were greater than they expected and those patients with the most financial distress were underinsured, paying almost one-third of their income in health care-related costs, a research letter published by JAMA Oncology reports.

The financial burden of treating cancer is well known and even insured patients face financial burden and a worsened quality of life. Underinsured patients (those who spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care costs) are a growing group.

Fumiko Chino, M.D., of the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and coauthors conducted a survey of financial distress and cost expectations among 300 insured patients with cancer presenting for treatment at a comprehensive cancer center and three affiliated rural oncology clinics. Nearly all of the patients had private insurance or Medicare and the rest had Medicaid.

More than one-third of insured cancer patients receiving treatment faced out-of-pocket costs that were greater than they expected and those patients with the most financial distress were underinsured, paying almost one-third of their income in health care-related costs, a research letter published by JAMA Oncology reports.

The financial burden of treating cancer is well known and even insured patients face financial burden and a worsened quality of life. Underinsured patients (those who spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care costs) are a growing group.

Fumiko Chino, M.D., of the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and coauthors conducted a survey of financial distress and cost expectations among 300 insured patients with cancer presenting for treatment at a comprehensive cancer center and three affiliated rural oncology clinics. Nearly all of the patients had private insurance or Medicare and the rest had Medicaid.

More than one-third of insured cancer patients receiving treatment faced out-of-pocket costs that were greater than they expected and those patients with the most financial distress were underinsured, paying almost one-third of their income in health care-related costs, a research letter published by JAMA Oncology reports.

The financial burden of treating cancer is well known and even insured patients face financial burden and a worsened quality of life. Underinsured patients (those who spend more than 10 percent of their income on health care costs) are a growing group.

Fumiko Chino, M.D., of the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and coauthors conducted a survey of financial distress and cost expectations among 300 insured patients with cancer presenting for treatment at a comprehensive cancer center and three affiliated rural oncology clinics. Nearly all of the patients had private insurance or Medicare and the rest had Medicaid.