What is cancer insurance?

Cancer insurance is a form of supplemental insurance that is designed to help offset the out-of-pocket medical and indirect, non-medical expenses related to cancer that most medical plans won't cover. These policies are relative newcomers to the insurance industry, and they were designed to help patients and their families cover the skyrocketing cost of cancer drugs, as well as manage the financial risks that come with the high cost of cancer treatment. While health insurance is designed to cover medical expenses, doctor visits, hospital visits, medications and will cover the vast majority of cancer treatment costs, co-payments and co-insurance portions can still be astronomical in some cases. Experimental drugs and treatments can also dramatically increase medical costs if they are necessary to alleviate a type of cancer, which typically are not covered by most general insurance policies. Worse yet, some individuals may be forced to pay for cancer treatments after losing income from missing work or on a limited worker's compensation budget, which could put them into serious financial difficulties (National Association of Insurance Commissioners). As such, cancer insurance can provide invaluable assistance to pay for common expenses incurred during cancer treatment, including: * Lodging expenses for out-of-town care * Home care * Child Care * Auto/Fuel/Parking and other general transportation expenses * Food supplements * Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines not covered by insurance