JulieAnn Villa, who was diagnosed in March with her third bout of cancer, estimates she has spent “thousands of dollars” on parking fees during her years of treatment and follow-up care. She faces a transportation dilemma every time she commutes 6 miles to Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital from her apartment.
She was hospitalized for multiple days in April after spending 23 hours alone in an overburdened ER, because she didn’t want friends to pay to wait with her. “I almost drove myself, and I’m so glad I didn’t,” Villa said. “That would have been expensive.” Long a source of frustration for patients, the costs of parking while in cancer treatment is finally drawing national scrutiny from oncology researchers and even some hospital administrators.
“If you want to rile up patients or caregivers or family members, just bring up parking costs,” said Dr. Fumiko Chino, a radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York who studies the “” of cancer treatment, including costs not covered by insurance, such as parking fees. Chino, who enrolled in medical school after her husband died of a rare neuroendocrine cancer in 2007, added, “For people who have to pay $15 to $18 every single time, which is what I remember paying, it really feels like the last straw, frankly — like kicking you when you’re down.”. Others have accessibility issues. Many must travel to get care, making driving the best option.
Maine Medical Center in Portland Maine has free parking for everyone. They also have designated parking for cancer patients
This shouldn't ever happen... 😥
Not to mention that patients often have to relocate for significant periods of time for treatment and insurance does not cover costly housing and daily food. It can be cripplingly expensive to follow the required protocols. Another burden on families.
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