Things to Consider Before You Buy Cancer Insurance

Find out whether cancer insurance makes sense for you and how to avoid the pitfalls of cancer health insurance policies.

If you, your spouse, or your child were diagnosed with cancer, would your current health insurance plan cover all of the potentially astronomical costs that could be associated with its treatment?

If not, would you or your loved ones be able to afford your portion of those bills—or the many bills your plan doesn’t address, like experimental treatments, visits to out-of-network specialists, home health care, or even your daily living expenses?

It isn’t unusual for people of all walks of life to ponder these questions given the alarming prevalence of cancer, which is the second most common cause of death in the US (it accounts for nearly one of every four deaths), and its treatment. A couple of examples:

• According to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2015 report, men in the US have a one in two chance of developing some form of cancer during their lifetimes, and a one in four chance of dying from it
• American women, on the other hand, have a one in three chance of developing cancer within their lifetimes, and a one in five chance of dying from it
• Also, it’s expected that just over 1.6 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed this year, and that nearly 600,000 people in the US will die of cancer during 2015