Prostate Cancer: The Cost of Staying Well

Now, what about if you do have Medicare? Well, that’s a much smaller cost for the insurance itself (for Part B, I pay about $90 a month, and that comes out of my social security payments -- $1100 annually.) Then, I have to pay the 20 percent co-pay, drugs (or Part D insurance), so if I have prostate cancer treatment costs between $6,500 and $30,000, my part of that payment (plus my insurance costs) is $2,500 to $7,000. Then there are all the other co-pays for the year.
If I also have Medigap insurance, add about $3,000 to my yearly costs, but subtract the co-pays.

Confusing enough? Now, start figuring out your family’s income for the year, and do the math.
Are you spending more than 10 to 15 percent of your family’s income on healthcare each year?

Is that burdensome to you?

One thing we all can do, however, is to check out whether we need certain treatments; whether there are options that are both safe, effective, and lower in cost.

• There’s always watchful waiting for those of you with a low Gleason.
• Some experts are now looking at a new kind of ultrasound that can do the job of C.T. scan in some cases.
• Others are suggesting that cryotherapy (using very low temperatures to freeze tumours) may be cost-effective.

It’s up to you to assess your own situation. But one thing the AHRQ study makes clear: millions of families are spending more and more on healthcare, and that’s problematic.