文章以多位病患案例呈现癌症治疗如何摧毁家庭财务：Jacqueline Trapp 50岁确诊多发性骨髓瘤，靠每颗标价逾800美元、每月服用21天的药物控制病情，仍累积超过10万美元自付药费（不含保费与检查），被迫变卖物品、再融资房屋，只为「付钱或等死」。

在美国每年约200万人被诊断罹癌的背景下，药价与支付制度推高负担：彭博分析称癌症药物「初始中位数价格」自2000年以来已增至每月2.5万美元、约为当年的四倍；2000年后核准的药物中，不到一半曾被证实能延长生命。医院对部分化疗药加价可达100倍以上；临床试验市场约每年800亿美元，单一病患可带来25万美元以上收入；而若保费补贴于明年到期，压力可能更大。

保险与补助仍常不足：2025年《平价医疗法》限制个人自付上限为每年9,200美元（院内），但仍有拒赔、差额、交通等成本；2022年《降低通膨法》将Medicare处方药自付封顶2,000美元，却主要适用居家用药。研究显示癌症患者破产风险近3倍，且破产者死亡风险高80%；麻州私保病患中近十分之一在确诊后信用分数显著下滑且下滑愈多死亡风险愈高。案例中有人累积1.6万美元医疗债后破产、曾失去保险8个月；有人因保单更换三度重置自付额并靠募款超过10万美元；也有人因付不起75美元共付而跳过治疗、募款至12月下旬仅815美元，且12月18日得知癌细胞扩散到脊椎。

The piece shows how cancer care can wreck finances even for insured patients. Jacqueline Trapp, diagnosed with multiple myeloma at 50, relies on a drug priced at over $800 per pill taken 21 days a month, yet still accumulated more than $100,000 in out-of-pocket drug costs (excluding premiums and other tests), forcing sales of property and deep cutbacks.

Against roughly 2 million new US cancer diagnoses each year, prices and incentives drive costs upward. A Bloomberg analysis found the median launch price of cancer drugs has quadrupled since 2000 to about $25,000 per month, while fewer than half of drugs approved since 2000 have ever been proven to extend life; hospitals marked up some chemotherapy drugs by 100-fold or more, and clinical trials form an ~$80 billion annual market that can generate $250,000+ per patient.

Insurance protections still leave gaps: the ACA caps in-network out-of-pocket spending at $9,200 a year in 2025, and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act caps Medicare Part D out-of-pocket at $2,000 for prescription drugs, but not many infusions or chemotherapy. Studies link financial harm to outcomes: cancer patients are nearly 3x as likely to file bankruptcy, and those who do are 80% more likely to die; in Massachusetts, almost 1 in 10 privately insured patients saw major credit-score drops after diagnosis. Individual stories include $16,000 in medical debt and bankruptcy, an 8-month coverage loss, GoFundMe fundraising of $100,000+, skipped care over a $75 copay, and a December 18 finding of spinal spread.