INDIANAPOLIS — Cancer Action Day returned to the statehouse on Wednesday.
This year, cancer survivors, patients and advocates are pushing lawmakers to pass a bill that would give more Hoosiers access to biomarker testing.
Keith Hollingsworth spoke at the event. He was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in May 2021.
"I had no symptoms leading up to it," Hollingsworth said. "I found myself in the emergency room with abdominal pain to find out there was a mass in my colon. I was prepped for emergency surgery and diagnosed with cancer that night."
Hollingsworth says he's here now because of biomarker testing.
"Without biomarker testing, the treatment that I’m doing today, that’s keeping my cancer at bay, would not be available to me," Hollingsworth said.
Biomarker tests help detect cancer and give patients access to different treatment options.
"The other piece is as people start to explore clinical trials, it’s becoming more and more of a requirement to have biomarker testing in order to qualify," Hollingsworth said.
The issue is that insurance doesn't always cover the testing.
According to the American Cancer Society Action Network, the average negotiated rate for insurers is $78 to $224, but for patients out of pocket it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Biomarker testing runs anywhere from $6,000 to $7,000 a shot. Then from a monitoring perspective, that test is about $1,500 every three months," Hollingsworth said.
Right now, Indiana state lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 273, which would require a health plan to provide coverage for biomarker testing.
"This legislation simply levels the playing field for all Hoosiers who qualify and is medically necessary for their treatment plan," Ally Kast, with the American Cancer Society Action Network, said.
Kast says 14 other states have passed the legislation. The hope is to keep pushing so that everyone has access.
Hollingsworth says it's given him a better quality of life and more time with his two sons.
"And minimal side effects, too. Traditional chemotherapy is much more tough on your body system than the treatment that I’m currently on," Hollingsworth said. "It allows me to have a normal life with my family, which is really important for me."
SB 273 is in the appropriations committee.
