Discretionary medical cards critical support to cancer patients

The Irish Cancer Society has asked the Minister for Health, Dr. James Reilly, to reconsider his decision to make it significantly more difficult for cancer patients to be awarded discretionary medical cards on the grounds that their diagnosis causes undue financial hardship. The Society says that the new, challenging criteria that have to be met and then assessed by a panel of doctors, may lead to additional distress for cancer patients and their families.

The Society says that cancer patients are already facing increasingly difficult circumstances because of the impact of the recession and this latest reduction in support may be the tipping point for some families.

“Our information shows that a cancer diagnosis can have a significant adverse financial impact on patients and their families in Ireland,” says Ms. O’Meara. “If someone is self-employed, young, without private health insurance, not eligible for a medical card or doesn’t have savings, they are left in a very vulnerable position of being unable to manage basic expenses such as heating and travel to hospital for treatment. We are hearing from an increasing number of these people”.

An increasing number of cancer patients going through treatment need to ask the Irish Cancer Society for cash support to pay for necessities like heat and travel expenses and this rising number is correlated to the recession.

Applications to the charity’s Financial Aid Scheme increased by 36% from 2009-2012 and the Society now provides over €1 million a year to cancer patients who need financial help. The Irish Cancer Society says this figure will have grown in 2013. Virtually all of the Society’s funding comes from voluntary donations.

“Queries about cancer costs such as heating and travel are now the third most frequent type of call to the National Cancer Helpline (1800 200 700),” says Ms. Kathleen O’Meara, Head of Advocacy and Communications at the Irish Cancer Society. “We are hearing an increased anxiety from our callers about the cost to them of having cancer. We are giving more financial support to those who need it but we are seeing a growing number of cancer patients who are simply unable to manage the extra cost to them because they have cancer.”

During 2012, all of the Irish Cancer Society’s patient-facing services recorded an increase in queries about how to bear the cost of cancer. For instance for the first 6 months of 2012, 20% of queries at the Irish Cancer Society’s Daffodil Centres were  related to financial assistance or practical support for a cancer diagnosis. This trend reflects research carried out by the National Cancer Society and National Cancer Registry of Ireland in 2010, which showed that 55% of those surveyed had to use their savings to cover costs because Government support or private health insurance was not adequate. The Irish Cancer Society believes that this figure has increased given further Government cuts since 2010.

The top three reasons recorded for needing financial assistance are heating and fuel (50%), travel expenses (25%) and childcare (7%). Breast cancer patients make the most applications, followed by lung cancer patients and then colorectal cancer patients.

The Irish Cancer Society’s financial supports for cancer patients are a last resort and given that over 90% of applicants are have medical cards, the charity says that it is clear more needs to be done by Government to help patients with their increased living expenses that arise from their cancer diagnosis.