Will you have to pay to participate in a clinical trial?
The clinical trial sponsor (whether it is the U.S. government or a company) pays for the experimental treatment, and most pay for other parts of the treatment process, such as any special testing or extra doctor visits. Some sponsors pay for travel time or travel expenses. For Medicare patients, Medicare covers the costs of procedures that patients would have even if they were not in a clinical trial (routine costs) in all government-sponsored Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. Some health insurance companies also will cover routine costs in clinical trials. You will be responsible for any costs not covered by the clinical trial sponsor or your health insurance company. Therefore, be sure to ask questions about cost before making your decision to take part in a clinical trial, especially to confirm what costs your health insurance company will cover.
