It may have appeared at first that the federal spending cuts known as
the sequester might not cut too deeply. But as some Medicare patients
who need chemotherapy are learning to their dismay, there's some real
pain in the process.
Seventy-two-year-old George Rossis is in the fight of his life -- battling lung cancer. He and his wife Linda are very happy wth the care he's receiving at a clinic near their Long Island home.
However, that may soon change and Linda may have to start taking time off from work to drive George to a hospital for chemotherapy.
"I am upset, because to think if this is what's going to happen, you know, my concern is for George, too," she said. "And I want nothing but the best for him."
Most medications for seniors are covered by Medicare part D, which is exempt from the automatic budget cuts. But cancer drugs must be given by a doctor, so chemotherapy falls under Medicare part B, which is being cut by two percent.
"It strikes me as being insane," said Dr. Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates, where George Rossis is a patient. "We can't go to the point where we're actually losing money when we're giving chemotherapy drugs. That's not in the end do any favor for our patients because we wouldn't be able to stay in business."
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Seventy-two-year-old George Rossis is in the fight of his life -- battling lung cancer. He and his wife Linda are very happy wth the care he's receiving at a clinic near their Long Island home.
However, that may soon change and Linda may have to start taking time off from work to drive George to a hospital for chemotherapy.
"I am upset, because to think if this is what's going to happen, you know, my concern is for George, too," she said. "And I want nothing but the best for him."
Most medications for seniors are covered by Medicare part D, which is exempt from the automatic budget cuts. But cancer drugs must be given by a doctor, so chemotherapy falls under Medicare part B, which is being cut by two percent.
"It strikes me as being insane," said Dr. Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates, where George Rossis is a patient. "We can't go to the point where we're actually losing money when we're giving chemotherapy drugs. That's not in the end do any favor for our patients because we wouldn't be able to stay in business."
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