Table 3 Contributions to changes in patient financial situations

Employment Disruption

I had my savings from the work I had all these years. I lost my job and my savings that I had. My savings are all gone because of my cancer diagnosis. (Patient, 50 YO)

Before [she was diagnosed], she was working full time. But after she was diagnosed, she was working part-time because she had to do a lot of hospital stays and regular visits with her doctor. (Son, 22 YO)

Sometimes, employers will tell them that they can’t secure their job. I think that initiates the initial fear of the financial impact that they are going to feel… I would say that the Latino group gets a lot more pushback from employers than the Caucasian population because they are working in different occupations. (HCP, 45 YO)

Medical-Related Financial Costs

I had to pay $700. Sometimes, I had to pay $800 from the place where they sent me for tests. (Patient, 62 YO)

Some of these people’s insurances have high co-pays and out-of-pocket deductibles. Even though they have jobs and are stable, some of these co-pays could easily be over $500. Not everybody has $500 for every single treatment if they have to be here once a week. (HCP, 29 YO)

You can have insurance, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to pay for everything. You could come in and have a co-payment of anywhere from 20 to $50 every time you step into this building. (HCP, 62 YO)

Non-Medical Related Costs

She’s (patient) pretty much a good mom because she still tries to cook, but sometimes she cannot. So, a lot of the time, they end up buying like takeout because she is not [able to cook]. Then again, that costs money. So it is not easy. (Mother, 57 YO)

A lot of our patients here we service are from the name of the region [rural region]. So these are places that they have to come back and forth [to the clinic]. With today’s gas prices, it is a big problem… (HCP, 51 YO)