LUNGevityKristin Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 LUNGevity is seeking to speak to a patient who has had difficulty obtaining access to comprehensive biomarker testing for their non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis. For example, would your insurance not cover it? Did your doctor not want to offer it? We would like to learn more about your experience as part of our advocacy work on increasing access to biomarker testing. There may be opportunities to share your experience with others and for possible awareness opportunities. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 That's actually the reason I changed oncologists. My original oncologist (new to me because my previous oncologist moved to Minnesota) didn't see any point in having comprehensive testing done--he tested only for those mutations he felt were most likely to be actionable. When I consulted my present oncologist (at a different hospital/cancer center) he felt it was definitely worth doing, and my insurance paid with no problems. It didn't turn up any new mutations, but at least we looked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M2 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Biomarker testing was automatically arranged by my pulmonologist after my bronchoscopy. I didn't even know about it at the time, all I was thinking about were the biopsy results. I assume Medicare paid for it, because I've never paid separately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Actually, come to think of it, I'm not positive my insurance DID pay. Apparently Penn Medicine had an agreement with the testing company that even if my insurance didn't pay, they would cover it. I'm not sure how all of that shook out in the end. All I know is nobody ever demanded payment from me, so somebody else paid for it. OK, I just checked. Evidently the molecular testing of the tumor/nodes was done in-house at Penn. What I was thinking of--the testing that there was an agreement about--was the liquid biopsy, done by Guardant. I'm still not sure who ultimately paid for that. But apparently my insurance paid for the additional testing at Penn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJM Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 My oncologist would not do the test unless a recurrence developed. Due to a poorly read CT scan we thought it had come back late last year so he ordered the test. It appears to be a full test. His reasoning was it cost XX$ and he had only found actionable mutations a handful of times. No insurance issues when he approved. Hope that helps a bit Peace Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LUNGevityKristin Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 Thank you everyone for your replies. Would you be interested in speaking in more detail with one of my colleagues about your experiences? They will speaking with people early next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LexieCat Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 I don't know that I could provide much more info than I have, here, but if they want to talk to me, I'll talk to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy M2 Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Yes, I'm willing to talk. I'll check my medical records in the meantime to see what I can find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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