COLUMBUS, OH – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today joined cancer survivors, experts, businesses, and insurance companies at a forum on expanding access to cancer clinical trials. Brown, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, outlined the Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act, legislation he recently introduced that would expand health care coverage to patients enrolled in clinical trials.

“Cancer patients should be able to pursue the best courses of treatment without putting their financial security at risk,” said Brown. “I introduced legislation that would enable cancer patients to enroll in clinical trials and still receive routine medical services. This bill would mean that cancer patients can focus on what’s important—their health and recovery.”

Witnesses at the forum discussed how cancer clinical trials advance research and offer new treatment options, while insurance companies and business leaders explained how routine health costs can be covered even if patients enroll in clinical trials.

"We applaud Senator Brown for his leadership role in changing federal policy so that all cancer patients will be guaranteed access to life-saving clinical trials, without worrying whether their insurance will cover the costs of routine medical care," says Dr. Michael Caligiuri, Director of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and CEO of the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

Clinical trials often include cutting-edge therapies that are not available through traditional methods. Many insurance policies, however, discourage enrollment in these trials by refusing to cover routine health care costs once policyholders enroll in clinical trials. The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute has estimated that 20 percent of patients who attempt to enroll in clinical trials are denied coverage by their insurance.

Brown’s Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act ensures that cancer patients participating in clinical trials retain their health care coverage for routine services under the Medicare definition.

Brown was joined today by Mary Jo Hudson, Director, Ohio Department of Insurance, Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, Director, OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center; CEO, James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute; Gene Bayman, a patient enrolled in a standard-care treatment rather than clinical trial due to prohibitive insurance costs; Electra Paskett, PhD, Professor and Associate Director for Population Sciences at OSU; Ty D. Marsh, Pres. and CEO, Columbus Chamber; Joe San Filippo, CEBS, Chief Health Care Strategist, Nationwide Better Health; Donn Young, PhD – Cancer Survivor, Research Scientist and Senior Bistatistician, OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center; and a representative from Anthem Health Insurance.

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