States That Require Health Plans to Cover Patient Care Costs in Clinical Trials
A growing number of states have passed legislation or instituted special agreements requiring health plans to pay the cost of routine medical care you receive as a participant in a clinical trial.
“Routine patient care costs” are the usual costs of medical care, such as doctor visits, hospital stays, clinical laboratory tests, x-rays, etc., that you would receive whether or not you were participating in a clinical trial. Some health plans don’t cover these costs once you join a trial, even though studies have shown that they are not appreciably higher than costs for patients who are not enrolled in trials. For information, please click on http://cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/developments/laws-about-clinical-trial-costs.