Pillar #5: Access to Quality Treatment & Clinical Trials

Requirements:
  • Ensure that health benefit plans provide access to cancer treatment at Commission on Cancer-accredited programs and/or National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers.
  • Provide education about cancer clinical trials.
  • Ensure that health benefit plans continue to provide coverage for the current standard of care when covered individuals are participating in cancer clinical trials.

Key Messages:  

5a. Ensure that health benefit plans provide access to cancer treatment at Commission on Cancer-accredited programs and/or National Cancer Institute-designated centers.

  • You will be asked to indicate that all health benefit plans, including self-insured or fully insured plans, provide access to cancer treatment for enrolled employees and their covered dependents at Commission on Cancer-accredited facilities www.web.facs.org/cpm/CPMApprovedHospitals_Result.cfm and/or National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers.  http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/cancer_centers/index.html
  • You will be asked to list a few examples of either CoC-accredited facilities and/or NCI-designated cancer centers where your employees and dependents may receive cancer treatment.
5b. Provide eduction about cancer clinical trials.
  • An organization must educate employees about the value of considering participation in a cancer clinical trial. There are many suggested ways to meet requirement 5b – not all are required, however, you’ll be required to check off a sufficient number of boxes on the accreditation application to demonstrate that you are educating your employees and raising awareness about the importance and value of cancer clinical trials.

5c. Ensure that health benefit plans continue to provide coverage for the current standard of care when covered individuals are participating in cancer clinical trials.

  • You will be asked to indicate that all health benefit plans, including self-insured or fully insured plans, do not specifically exclude coverage for cancer clinical trials, i.e. that health benefits plans do not specifically state that standard cancer treatment will not be covered under the usual terms of the health benefits plans just because an individual elects to participate in a clinical trial.
  • Note that investigational drugs or agents are typically paid for by the clinical trial sponsor and would not be the responsibility of our health benefits plan(s).
  • Employees or covered dependents who elect to participate in a cancer clinical trial, may not be financially penalized by the health benefits program, i.e. you will be asked to state that they would receive the same benefits coverage as employees who do not participate in a trial.

GOLD STANDARD FOCUS

Read what a group of CEOs in Texas are saying about fighting cancer in the workplace. Executives from several of our Gold Standard accredited organizations, including Dell, Livestrong, CPRIT, Seton Family of Hospitals and the American Cancer Society’s High Plains Division participated in the discussion.
The Road to Wellville


Learn how CEOs are making a difference in the lives of their employees by implementing the CEO Cancer Gold Standard.  Listen to what employees are saying about the Gold Standard in Their Own Voices.


Brochure.pngLearn much more about the Gold Standard by reading The Evidence and The Benefits to Your Organization. 

Did You Know?

Smoking, on average, reduces life expectancy by approximately 14years.