Insurance coverage lags as cancer science, treatment move forward

Insurance coverage is lagging behind cancer science for rare tumors, according to a report from KFF Health News. Eighteen months after being diagnosed with a rare brain tumor that spread to spinal fluid, 21-year-old Mason Henderson traveled for a three-week clinical trial in New York City, but it failed. Early this year, doctors prescribed Lynparza (olaparib) in combination with chemotherapy, but his insurance declined payment, citing that the drug was “not approved” for his diagnosis. His mother said insurers were effectively discriminating due to rarity, while experts argue insurers often rely on FDA labels and guidelines that don’t fit uncommon cancers lacking large trials.