Lung cancer can be an overwhelming and expensive diagnosis, and covering the cost of treatment is more difficult if you don’t have health insurance. While attaining health insurance can be a confusing process, it is important to consider your insurance options when facing a lung cancer diagnosis to avoid a large hit to your finances.

Medical care for lung cancer includes services like doctors’ visits, follow-up appointments, imaging scans, medications, and outpatient hospital stays, as well as radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and other treatment options. The cost of these services can quickly add up to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you don’t qualify for any type of health insurance, there are resources that can help cover both medical and nonmedical costs for lung cancer treatment.

Lung Cancer Financial Assistance

Financial assistance for lung cancer is available, but eligibility and enrollment requirements vary. For example, HealthWell Foundation offers non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) financial assistance. You must have health insurance to qualify, but they help fill the gaps for specific treatment costs.

The Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation offers small cell lung cancer financial assistance. To qualify, you must meet five criteria, including Medicare coverage and income requirements.

If you need lung cancer financial assistance, talk to your health care provider or a patient navigator. A patient navigator is a health care professional who helps people understand their diagnosis, treatment options, and supports them in getting medical and financial help. Your cancer care team can answer your eligibility and enrollment questions and may know of free nebulizer programs, clinical trials, or grants for lung cancer treatment.

Health Insurance Programs

In researching financial assistance options, you may first want to consider health insurance. Several public and private health insurance programs can help to reduce your out-of-pocket costs. With health insurance, common out-of-pocket costs for cancer treatment include copayments, coinsurance, and expenses incurred before you meet your deductible. Without health insurance coverage, treatment costs may be extremely high.

“I was looking at the bill for immunotherapy. Wow. Hard to believe it cost so much! If not for insurance, I would not be able to do this,” wrote one member of MyLungCancerTeam.

Public Programs

Medicaid is a state-based public program that provides health insurance for low-income individuals, families, and children. Medicare is the national health insurance program available to adults over 65 years old or to individuals with disabilities or permanent kidney failure.

If you have worked jobs for which you paid into Social Security and cannot currently work due to lung cancer, you may qualify for Social Security disability benefits. Furthermore, the two main types of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), are included in the Social Security Administration’s list of compassionate allowances. Having a condition from this list will speed up the process of receiving Social Security disability benefits. If you get approved for these benefits, you may be eligible to apply for Medicare, even if you are younger than 65.

You can learn more about Social Security disability benefits, Medicare, and Medicaid by visiting their websites. If you don’t qualify for these programs, you can check your eligibility for an individual health insurance policy through your state’s public health insurance marketplace or at HealthCare.gov. State plans may be more affordable, as they are subsidized based on income.

Private Programs

If you don’t qualify for a public health insurance program, there are several private health insurance options. If you are employed or have a spouse who is employed, you may qualify for job-based health insurance through your employer.

If you’re a student, check if your school or university offers health insurance plans. If you’re a military veteran, you may qualify for Veterans Affairs health care benefits. You can also buy health insurance directly through an insurance company, but this can be a more expensive option.

Affording Lung Cancer Treatment Without Insurance

If you don’t qualify for a health insurance plan or choose not to get one, other resources can help cover the medical expenses of lung cancer treatment. These programs differ by the type of care or services they cover.

Prescription Drugs

Prescription drug assistance programs provide access to low-cost or free prescription drugs. Different programs have different eligibility requirements, so review each program’s requirements to find a plan that you qualify for. Some resources include:

• Lung Cancer Initiative maintains a list of patient assistance programs (PAPs) approved for lung cancer therapies. Patient assistance programs are financial assistance programs for drugs offered directly by drug manufacturers.
• RxAssist’s Patient Assistance Program Center provides information and a comprehensive directory of all available PAPs.
• NeedyMeds is a nonprofit that provides information and resources for affording prescription drugs. The website also offers a list of state-sponsored programs that help with financial assistance for medical care and medications.
• PhRMA’s free Medicine Assistance Tool matches people with and without insurance with resources and programs for affording medications.
• SingleCare is a company that negotiates with pharmaceutical companies to provide discounts on medications. They offer free prescription discount cards you can use regardless of whether you have insurance.

Medical Services

For people who have trouble paying a medical bill for lung cancer, the American Cancer Society recommends the following steps:

• Meet in person with someone in the office or hospital that sent you the bill. Explain the issue and your financial situation to someone in the financial department or the office manager.
• Ask about charity care, discounts similar to those provided through Medicare, or payment plans to help you afford to pay the medical bill.
• Meet with an oncology social worker or financial counselor to explore all of the resources that may be available to help you afford medical care for lung cancer treatment.

Online resources and tools can also help you find financial assistance for your medical bills. These are offered by charitable or nonprofit organizations that provide funding for certain medical expenses. Some resources for finding programs include:

• FundFinder, available on the web or as a phone, is developed by the PAN Foundation. It will notify you when financial assistance (for medication, doctors’ visits, travel expenses, and insurance premiums) from charitable organizations becomes available.
• BenefitsCheckUp is a free service from the National Council on Aging. It allows older adults to search for benefits programs that help cover a range of expenses, including health care and housing.

If you have health insurance but need assistance with copayments (sometimes called “copays”) for medical visits, you can ask your hospital or clinic directly about your options to pay.

Copayment assistance plans like CancerCare’s Co-Payment Assistance Foundation help cover the costs of copayments for cancer care.

Affording Other Lung Cancer-Related Expenses

While medical expenses can largely be funded through health insurance, several financial assistance options can help with nonmedical expenses, including short-term housing, transportation, caregiving, housing and mortgage, and food costs.

Short-Term Housing

If your cancer treatment center is far from home, treatment centers and clinics usually offer free or low-cost short-term housing options at nearby hotels for the duration of your medical treatment. Contact your clinic’s staff or oncology social worker to ask about these options.

The American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge program offers free short-term housing if you have to travel far from home for cancer treatment. The Healthcare Hospitality Network also offers options for low-cost housing during cancer treatment.

Transportation for Treatment

If you have Medicaid, transportation costs to and from treatment centers — for things like gas or bus fare — may be reimbursable. Contact your Medicaid caseworker and ask about these options. Through the American Cancer Society’s Road To Recovery program, you may be able to have a volunteer drive you to your medical appointments or treatments.

Resources for other expenses like caregiver costs, food, and mortgage assistance can be found on the American Cancer Society’s website (cancer.org) or the American Lung Association’s website (lung.org).

Consult an Oncology Social Worker

Whether or not you have health insurance, oncology social workers are available to help you navigate the expenses of lung cancer care. If you don’t have insurance, they can help assess your options for enrolling in a plan. They can also connect you to other financial assistance resources you may be eligible for.

Most hospitals and clinics have a team of social workers on staff, so ask your oncologist, nurse, or health care provider about working with a social worker. They should be able to offer you a referral. CancerCare also offers oncology social workers you can contact by calling 800-813-4673. Social workers can help you navigate available financial resources, as well as other aspects of a lung cancer diagnosis.

Get Support From Others Who Understand

Talking to other people who understand what you are going through can be a great source of emotional support while navigating the cost of cancer care.

MyLungCancerTeam is the social network for people with lung cancer and their loved ones. On MyLungCancerTeam, more than 13,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with lung cancer.

Are you living with lung cancer and lacking insurance? Have you had success getting help with your health care costs? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.