$1M Isn't What it Used To Be

The Assertive Cancer Patient writes:

Every three weeks, always on a Thursday afternoon, I amble on over to the cancer center for my IV treatment.

(I also take Cytoxan, a chemo drug that comes in pill form, every day, plus a handful of other pills to help deal with the side effects and fringe benefits of being in cancer treatment�anxiety, high blood pressure, occasional depression, insomnia.)

The total bill for each treatment session at the cancer center is something north of $20,000. The annual cost of my cancer care is more than $300,000. That�s three hundred thousand dollars a year.

Almost $30,000 a month to keep me alive.

I have no idea who this lady is. Her story clearly illustrates why health insurance should be a priority for people . . . before they get sick.

As a result of the high cost of Herceptin and Avastin, I am going to hit my lifetime max of $1 million on my health insurance before the end of 2007.

Then what? I can�t even afford a month�s worth of cancer treatment on my own.

Some of the individual plans in GA have $2M caps, while others stop at $3M. Sadly, many group plans, usually those covering public employees, have caps of $1M - $1.5M.

A $2M cap is low by today's standards. A $3M cap should be adequate for most situations, at least for the foreseeable future.

So how much does it cost to raise the lifetime max from $2M to $6M?

About $4 per month for a family of 4.