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New state bill relieves cost of clinical care

Health insurance companies will pick up the tab for

Arizona Cancer Center patients' routine costs for clinical trials will now be paid by their health insurance companies because of a bill signed by Gov. Jane Hull last week.

Laurie Young, director of communication and outreach for the UA's Arizona Cancer Center, said the 2,700 patients the center sees a year will have access to better treatment now.

"This legislation will certainly be a big boost to the patients who come here," Young said. "The governor's signature on that bill really symbolized a big win for cancer patients in Arizona."

Young said more than 100 clinical trials occur at any one time. Some of the trials are treatment or preventive care, she said.

The center has more than 20,000 patient visits a year, Young said, but only about 20 percent of the patients qualify for clinical trials because they have to meet the criteria of the clinical test.

Nationally, Young said only about 2 to 3 percent of cancer patients meet the criteria for clinical trials.

"Denial by insurance companies is a reason why the number is so low," Young said.

The "Access to Clinical Trials" bill - Senate Bill 1213 - mandates that health insurance companies must pay for routine clinical care costs for cancer patients. This is the same type of costs the companies would foot if the patients received standard care.

Some of the routine care costs include hospital stays and blood tests.

The bill passed in the Arizona Senate April 5 with 25 to 5 vote. It passed in the house April 12 with a 35 to 13 vote.

Francie Noyes, the governor's press secretary, said Hull's signature last Monday will not change the way clinical trials are run, but patients' insurance will now cover more of the costs.

"Clinical trials will operate as they have been operating," Noyes said. "This is an important bill but it is limited in its scope."

Sen. Ann Day, R-Tucson, said she has been involved with dialogue about the bill for the past two years.

"The problem is anytime that a patient needs to enroll in a clinical trial it was really a hassle," Day said. "Patients could die waiting."

She said she does not think the bill will cause insurance companies to pay much more money because sometimes patients will recover faster on experimental treatment than through standard care and therefore save the companies' money.

"I think this will just enhance what is going on at the University (of Arizona) and improve research," Day said.

Bobbi Olson, the wife of UA basketball coach Lute Olson, said she is progressing well with her ovarian cancer because of the patients who have received experimental treatment at the Arizona Cancer Center before her.

"If other people had not gone through clinical trials it probably wouldn't have been possible for me to receive some of the treatment I've received and will receive in the future," said Olson, who discovered two years ago she had cancer.

She said that health insurance prices might increase but the extra cost would be worth access to experimental treatment.

"I think that is a small price to pay for your health," Olson said.

Other states that have similar clinical trial legislation are Maryland, Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia, Illinois, Louisiana and Rhode Island, Young said.