Cancer is a terrible disease that’s touched all our lives in one way or another. I can’t think of anyone who hasn’t seen a loved one or friend deal with this tragic illness. And if they have, then they also know that the treatment, often chemotherapy, can be a grueling, painful and prolonged experience.

Thankfully, scientific breakthroughs over the years have offered a measure of relief to cancer patients in the form of oral chemotherapy. Instead of being hooked to a machine for hours, they can take a pill. The side effects are sometimes less severe, and it allows patients to take the drug at home.

This is especially beneficial to people who live in rural areas and drive 50 or 60 miles to a treatment center, often accompanied by family members. 

Yet for many people, oral chemotherapy isn’t an option, and it all comes down to cost. Many insurance companies require different out-of-pocket costs for oral chemotherapy. It’s an incredibly expensive option that few people can afford, even those who’ve worked hard their entire lives and paid into a policy for years.

This year, the Senate has made it a priority to address this problem. Senate Bill 668 would require health benefit plans to establish equal out-of-pocket costs for covered oral and intravenously administered chemotherapy medications.

I was proud to support this critical measure in the Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee, on which I sit. Numerous witnesses testified that lowering the costs for oral chemotherapy would improve the lives of cancer patients.

I was grateful, then, to see the measure receive approval in the Senate this week. The legislation is long overdue, and I hope that it makes it to the governor’s desk. As legislators, we have the chance to ease the pain of people suffering with cancer. We should pass this measure through the Legislature as quickly as possible.

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In other news, the Senate Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee conducted a hearing this week on a measure I’m sponsoring to provide some financial protection to property owners against sinkholes.

Last week, an estimated 40 foot wide sinkhole opened up beneath the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky and swallowed eight classic cars. No one was hurt, luckily. Officials are still looking into what caused it, but most are certain it was because the museum sat on what is known as a karst landscape—the exact same type of geological formation most of our area sits on.

Sinkholes are freak occurrences of nature that usually strike with no warning. They can cause immense property damage. In a recent article, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey said he estimates sinkholes cause billions of dollars in property damage a year.

Senate Bill 691, which I’m sponsoring, would require homeowner insurance companies to offer sinkhole coverage, the same as they cover other disasters like fires. If the policy doesn’t offer coverage for sinkholes, then it has to be listed clearly.

I think homeowners in our area, a region extremely vulnerable to sinkholes, should have some degree of financial protection. My legislation would give them that option.

If you have any questions or comments about this or any other matter regarding your state government, please feel free to contact me at (573) 751-1503; you are also welcome to e-mail me at jay.wasson@senate.mo.gov.