The PAN Foundation opens new biliary tract cancer patient assistance fund

The PAN Foundation today opened a new patient assistance program for people living with biliary tract cancer. Biliary tract cancer, also known as biliary tract carcinoma, is a rare cancer that affects the cells of the bile ducts, gallbladder, or ampulla of Vater. It affects the hepatobiliary system.

According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 7,500 new cases of biliary tract cancer are diagnosed each year. Biliary tract cancer is the second most common primary hepatobiliary cancer, after hepatocellular cancer.

“While gallbladder and bile duct cancers are rare, they come with high out-of-pocket costs and often affect older adults, who are often living on a fixed income,” said PAN President and CEO Dan Klein. “We’re grateful to our generous donors who have made this assistance fund possible. Our hope is that we can help these patients with some of the costs and worries associated with this serious diagnosis.” Patients who qualify are eligible to receive $12,200 per year in financial assistance to pay for the deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance costs associated with their treatment for biliary tract cancer.

Eligibility requirements
To get financial assistance for biliary tract cancer, patients must:  

• Be getting treatment for biliary tract cancer.
• Have Medicare health insurance that covers the qualifying medication or product.
• Have an income that falls at or below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level.

How to apply
Patients or caregivers applying on their behalf can apply for assistance using the PAN Foundation’s online patient portal. To apply on behalf of a patient, providers can use the provider portal, while pharmacists can use the pharmacy portal. A series of how-to guides are also available for the patient portal, including common tasks like creating an account and applying for assistance online.

About the PAN Foundation
The PAN Foundation is an independent, national 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to helping federally and commercially insured people living with life-threatening, chronic, and rare diseases with the out-of-pocket costs for their prescribed medications.

Since 2004, we have provided nearly 1 million underinsured patients with $4 billion in financial assistance. Partnering with generous donors, healthcare providers and pharmacies, we provide the underinsured population access to the healthcare treatments they need to best manage their conditions and focus on improving their quality of life. Learn more at panfoundation.org.

MEDIA CONTACT

Liz Eckert, Director of Marketing and Communications
Email: leckert@panfoundation.org