Can You Afford the High Cost of CAR T-Cell Therapy?

Related: How is CAR T-Cell Therapy Used to Treat Multiple Myeloma?

Responses to CAR T-cell therapy have been so significant and long-lived that the word “curative” has been used by some medical experts when describing it. The trouble is, a therapy with such impressive results is bound to have a similarly impressive price tag, and CAR T-cell therapy is no exception.

“These therapies are very expensive, in the order of $400,000 to $500,000 just for the product, just for the T-cells,” Dr. Thomas Martin, hematologist at University of California San Francisco Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet. Add to that the cost of all the staff and support needed to administer your treatment and care for you afterward, which can add several hundred thousand dollars more to the total cost. “All the hospital stays and the nursing costs and the doctor’s costs and the antibiotic costs and transfusions and all the things that are associated with it come to quite a bit of an expense,” he says.

Can You Afford This Treatment?

Though Medicare and some private health insurance companies do cover the cost of CAR T-cell therapy for people who qualify, they may not pay for everything. You could still be responsible for co-pays for visits or medications, for example. If those leftover costs are high or you’re uninsured, this treatment could be out of reach for you.

CAR T-cell therapy is one treatment you need to enter into fully aware of how much you’ll owe. Your cancer center should have someone on staff, such as a patient navigator, to explain your share of the costs before you decide to have this therapy. “It’s worthwhile for us to do the financial cost assessment for each individual person to see how much it might potentially cost for them,” Dr. Martin says.

There are also the less visible costsfor example, the time you’ll spend away from work when you have to see your doctor for tests or exams, or the days when you’re in the hospital getting monitored after your treatment. You also have to factor in the costs of traveling to the facility where you’ll have treatment, including hotel stays and airfare.

CAR T-cell therapy isn’t just costly for you. Your caregiver has to make an investment, too. “You have to have a caregiver who can come with you for almost all your visits,” Dr. Martin says. “They have to take time off of work, potentially.”

Programs are available to help you cover at least some of these costs. For example, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Susan Lang Pre CAR T-Cell Therapy Travel Assistance Program provides $2,500 in financial assistance for people with blood cancer who qualify. That money can be used to cover things like travel, lodging, gas, parking and car rentals. Your doctor or cancer navigator can point you to other programs that can help you pay for this treatment.

Worth the Cost?

CAR T-cell therapy is worth the cost, says Dr. Martin. “There are some patients that remain in remission off therapy for a year, two years, three years, and ongoing,” he says. “I have a patient who is more than three years out from her CAR T-cell therapy. She has not had any therapy since.”

Though CAR T-cell therapy has a high upfront cost, the ability to go off your treatment completely for a few years could save you money in the long run. Even more importantly, it might prolong your life. Dr. Martin says of his patient, “She hasn’t had therapy for three years. We hope people have that type of success after this therapy.”

Where to Find Help With Cancer Costs

When you or someone you love is diagnosed with cancer, one of the most stressful parts of the journey is paying for the treatment.

“Cancer treatment is incredibly expensive,” Laurie Ostacher, a Behavioral Health Clinician at Stanford Health Care, previously told SurvivorNet.

“How much coverage you have depends on the insurance plan that you purchased. Sometimes when folks are younger, they might purchase a plan with a high deductible assuming they won’t get ill. So really, it’s helping them think about and kind of try and plan for the expenses that will be coming up. Oftentimes your cancer center will have a financial counselor who will help you with that, who can kind of sit down and go through the costs.”

Financial toxicity is a term that has been coined to describe the difficult financial impact cancer treatment brings.

The consequences of cancer costs can extend beyond patients’ wallets. Some people feel they have to cut their pills in half, extend their medications, or not refill their medications for several weeks because they can’t afford it. Of course, not following the treatment protocol can affect outcomes.

To begin your journey for financial assistance, start by talking to your doctor. Your cancer center can help address any concerns you might have about the cost of your cancer drugs.

Ostacher also recommends exploring disability programs.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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