“Cancer patients with only Medicare coverage face steep out-of-pocket costs, spending on average almost a quarter of their household incomes on treatment, according to a study published Wednesday.  …  Medicare beneficiaries with the lowest out-of-pocket costs also had coverage through Medicaid or the Veterans Health Administration. Their expenses were $2,116 and $2,367 a year, respectively. Seniors with additional coverage through employers had costs of almost $5,500, while those with private ‘Medigap’ policies, which cover copays and deductibles not picked up by Medicare, had expenses of $5,670. Beneficiaries in private Medicare plans — part of Medicare Advantage, which one-third of beneficiaries
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“Some of the nation’s biggest insurers are reporting double-digit annual growth for the plans in recent years. Companies embracing them include Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest health insurer, which has been in the critical illness policy market since 2011. …  Global insurance giant Gen Re, which started backing the policies more than 30 years ago and tracks the market, says overall critical illness policy sales since 1999 have risen from $8 million to $381 million annually. The company says a typical plan for a 42-year-old nonsmoker with a $20,000 benefit would cost about $300 a year.” LTC Comment (from
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