“I believe over the next five years, commercial insurers will be focusing less on their proton therapy utilization guidelines, and focusing more on their reimbursement policies, developing alternative payment models that allow for greater access to proton therapy without the concomitant increase in medical loss ratios and premiums that insurers always bemoan when defending their inadequate guidelines,” he said.

If true, then lawsuits like Molloy v. Aetna can be considered a driving force for increasing the number of patients who not just qualify but can affordably undergo proton therapy, raising questions about what the future of cancer care and survival will look like in both the near future and long-term.

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