[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 20, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


      CANCER-RELATED INSURANCE REFORM--COVERAGE OF CLINICAL TRIALS

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                         HON. RONALD D. COLEMAN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 20, 1995
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, clinical trials provide the best available 
treatment for many patients with cancer, AIDS, and other life-
threatening diseases, for whom standard therapies offer a limited 
chance for survival or enhanced quality of life. This is particularly 
true for children with cancer; over 60 to 70 percent are treated in 
clinical trials.
  However, many health care insurers refuse to reimburse patient care 
costs which result from participating in clinical trials by claiming 
such therapy is investigational or experimental. When this happens, 
individuals cannot receive what potentially may be the best treatment 
for their condition unless they can afford to pay significant out-of-
pocket expenses often running into thousands of dollars. Unless these 
patient care costs are included in a standard benefits package, it is 
likely that the reformed system will evolve into one of two tiers of 
care--potentially one in which only the wealthy have access to the best 
anticancer treatments.
  Reimbursement denials impede the ability to conduct effective and 
timely clinical research by increasing administrative burdens on 
medical institutions and reducing the number of patients eligible to 
participate in trials. If reimbursement is not available, fewer 
hospitals will be willing to participate in clinical research and the 
opportunity to test new and effective treatments will be lost. The data 
collected while providing state-of-the-art care to patients in clinical 
trial advance medical science and improve our ability to provide cost-
effective therapies.


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