Cancer patients unable to afford the latest, and perhaps more effective, forms of oral chemotherapy might have to wait only a few more months for relief.

In a 10-3 vote on Tuesday, the state Assembly's Health Committee passed SB 161 – a bill designed to eliminate the cost disparity between oral and intravenous chemotherapy which, supporters note, is often substantial.

When chemotherapy treatments are prescribed and taken in pill form, they are considered a pharmaceutical expense, rather than a medical expense. Intravenous anti-cancer and chemotherapy treatments are included under an individual's medical benefits coverage.

"There are times where, as doctors, we have to make that decision, and it's hard," said Helen Chew, a medical oncologist who spearheads the University of California, Davis, Cancer Center's clinical breast cancer program.

"When a patient's co-payment is exorbitant and they have trouble paying for oral drugs, I've had patients say to me that they'd rather be on IV drugs because (oral drugs are) not covered by their insurance," she said. "But the advantage of oral treatment is sometimes it's just much more convenient for the patient."

If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs the bill into law, cancer patients will be granted equal access and coverage to both intravenous and oral forms of chemotherapy, supporters said.

"We should not make a distinction between different forms of lifesaving drugs in the fight against cancer," said Sen. Rod D. Wright, D-Inglewood, who sponsored the legislation. "SB 161 requires that all forms of chemotherapy be covered on the same basis by health plans. As a cancer survivor who had full access to effective cancer therapies, I want to ensure that all cancer patients have the same chance at life."

Carrie's Touch, a Sacramento-based breast cancer survivor advocacy group for African Americans, cosponsored the bill.

"It really spoke to me," Carrie's Touch founder and President Rev. Tammie Denyse said of the bill. "I once knew a woman who had a $2,000 co-pay for a 14-day supply of oral chemotherapy and she needed like ten rounds of this 14-day supply. We just wanted the oral form be treated the same as the IV form."

Nearly half of Californians born today will develop some form of cancer during their lives, according to the California Health Benefits Review Program. There are about 140,000 cases diagnosed each year in California; more than 1 million state residents are cancer survivors.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent in California, with 65 percent of oral anti-cancer prescriptions used to treat breast cancer.

Despite the visible support of cancer survivors and advocates – members of Carrie's Touch attended the vote Tuesday, as they had when the bill was approved in the Senate in June – the bill did not pass without argument. The California Association of Health Plans – an insurance industry group – was among the measure's opponents, saying it would force insurance companies to foot the bill for the cost of oral anti-cancer regimens without consideration of patient safety or cost.

"Mandating this ill-defined 'favorable' coverage of oral anti-cancer medications takes the unprecedented step of forcing particular types of drugs onto a health plan's drug benefit," CAHP Legislative Advocate Nicholas Louizos said in a published statement. "As a result, this bill will limit a health plan's flexibility to design products and consider a drug's side effects and relative cost."

Denyse, a 4-year breast cancer survivor, said insurance companies have underestimated how daunting the cost of these medications can be for patients.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average co-pay rate for drugs similar to anti-cancer and chemotherapy medication is 28 percent. At this rate, a $3,000-per-month oral anti-cancer medication could leave a patient with more than $800 in out-of-pocket spending.

"I've had to pay out of pocket for prescription drugs before," Denyse said. "And sometimes it is the IV form of chemo that you need to treat your cancer. But if there is an oral form available and that is the best treatment for your particular kind of cancer, you shouldn't have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to get medicine that could save your life."

Call The Bee's Marissa Lang, (916) 321-1087.