The AP asked the centers how many insurance companies in their state’s exchange included them as a network provider.
Of the 19 that responded, four reported access through all insurers: the Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore; Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia; Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, NC; and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tenn. One caveat: Some insurers did not include these cancer centers on certain low-cost plans.
Two centers have special circumstances. The best known is St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Treatment there is free as long as children have a referral.
For the remaining 13, the gaps are evident.
In Buffalo, NY, Roswell Park Cancer Institute is included by five of seven insurers in its region. But statewide, the picture is much different: Roswell Park is not included by 11 of 16 insurers. Dr. Willie Underwood, associate professor of surgical oncology at the teaching hospital, says that’s a problem.