OHIO — There are calls for the Ohio legislature to increase access to care for people dealing with cancer.

What You Need To Know

  • Nearly 80,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer in the state, according to the the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network 
  • Cancer advocates are pushing for legislators to pass HB 24, which would expand access to biomarker testing
  • The hope is that biomarker testing will save lives

“Right now, some insurance companies will provide some coverage for biomarker testing," said Leo Almeida, director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

The goal is to change that by leveling the playing field so any Ohioan who is diagnosed with cancer and needs biomarker testing to determine the best treatment will have insurance to cover it. 

This testing looks at your genes, tissue and blood samples. It helps doctors to see how someone’s cancer cells are mutating, what they’re feeding off of and what treatment will work for that mutation. Almeida said, undergoing such testing gives some cancer patients the ability to avoid traditional chemo and radiation. Instead, they “might be able to go on a chemo pill that they can take orally at home, instead of having to go to the hospital for treatment," Almeida said.

Almeida believes that if people get access to biomarker testing lives will be saved. That’s in addition to money being saved, as cancer treatments are expensive. 

“People won’t end up on treatments that won't actually affect you, or in some cases have a negative effect and you get sicker during your treatment," Almeida said.