{"id":69511,"date":"2023-04-13T08:00:33","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T14:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=69511"},"modified":"2023-08-10T08:11:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T14:11:20","slug":"vicky-amerson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/vicky-amerson\/","title":{"rendered":"Vicky Amerson"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Vicky Amerson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finance expert helps oncology patients pay for their care<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vicky Amerson wants UCHealth patients to know that more than just their physical health is being looked after as they undergo cancer treatment.<\/p>\n

As the financial case coordinator for oncology services, she understands the financial burden that a cancer diagnosis can bring to a patient and their family, as well as the additional stress and trauma they carry while they battle the disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tell them we are here for you, and we are going to support you just like your physicians and nurses,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to take that fear away so they don\u2019t lie awake at night worried about losing their life savings or their home. We can\u2019t make the treatment free \u2026 but we can make it affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

She and the team of 25 she supervises at 11 UCHealth oncology units throughout the state work diligently to find money to help patients pay for cutting-edge cancer treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe come up with plan for the patient to make sure they have the funding to pay for their cancer treatment. It\u2019s all more than financial assistance \u2013 it\u2019s all about patient financial well-being,\u201d said Amerson, who works out of the UCHealth Cancer Center \u2013 Harmony Campus in Fort Collins.<\/p>\n

Amerson and her colleagues work personally with patients and their families, fielding calls, answering questions and walking them through complicated insurance claims to help them make sense of hospital bills.<\/p>\n

With 23 years of field experience, 12 in her current position, Amerson brings a wealth of experience in working with foundations and pharmacy companies around the country to help secure funding for patients.<\/p>\n

And the need is real: She points to statistics showing cancer is one of the most expensive disease treatments in America, with recent studies showing 63% of patients struggle financially following a diagnosis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe costs of some of the drugs and treatment can be phenomenal. We realize that and want to make sure that\u2019s never an obstacle to them getting the best care available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the work of the oncology financial case coordinators, UCHealth oncology patients last year had several available funding buckets:<\/p>\n