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Mar 16

Ron Rivera, Other Cancer Patients Forced to Fight for Insurance Coverage of Proton Therapy

  • March 16, 2022

For many families, cancer is the fight of their lives, but the News4 I-Team found some are having to endure another fight they never expected: getting their treatment covered by insurance.

Critics say the insurance industry is prioritizing money over medicine when it comes to a radiation treatment called proton therapy, which uses a beam of protons to target tumors more precisely than traditional photon radiation, so it’s less damaging to the surrounding healthy tissue.

“I think that’s something that people need to understand, that there is an alternative form of radiation treatment out there,” said Ron Rivera, head coach of the Washington Commanders football team and an enthusiastic advocate for proton therapy.

Rivera credits proton therapy as a big part of saving his life. He underwent a month of treatments at a center in Northern Virginia following his diagnosis with neck cancer in 2020. The carcinoma manifested in a lymph node and the back of his throat.

“It can be targeted at specific areas and it can limit the amount of collateral damage,” Rivera told the News4 I-Team. “I was fortunate. We got it early, and it was highly treatable, highly curable at that point.”

As a veteran of the National Football League, Rivera is used to tackling problems with well-designed plays and he says this was no different.

“We asked [the doctor], ‘If I was your brother, what would you have me do?’ He said proton therapy,” Rivera said. “So, we made this plan. They submit the plan, and I get notice I was denied.”

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The National Association for Proton Therapy (NAPT) and its members support cancer research and treatment innovation and are committed to raising awareness about the value of proton therapy among policymakers, insurers, caregivers and patients to ensure that this advanced treatment modality is affordable and available in communities across the country.

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LATEST NAPT NEWS

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