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Financial Disclaimer Information

Prior to the commencement of testing or treatment at Salem Oncology Center (SOC), an estimate of the cost of services will be provided by our Business Office. Since we are not contracted with any insurance companies, including Medicare, all insurance patients will be considered “out of network” when they come to SOC. Because we are not contracted with any insurance, a financial deposit for all estimated services is to be made prior to the start of testing and/or treatment. You will need to file your claims with your insurance carrier and instruct them to reimburse you directly. The agreement by your insurance company to pay for your medical care is a contract between you and your insurance company. The ultimate responsibility of paying your medical expenses rests with you. At the time of your initial visit, you will be required to sign a statement in which you accept and acknowledge ultimate financial responsibility for your medical expenses.

  • For U.S. insurance patients, all testing charges will be billed directly by the testing facility to your insurance carrier.
  • For International patients, all testing charges will be submitted to your SOC account and included in all estimates provided. SOC does not accept Letters of Guarantee from any government agencies, embassies, or third-party payers unless these government agencies abide and adhere to our SOC financial policies.

Why we do not accept insurance and third-party payers:

SOC is a highly sophisticated cancer treatment facility which is committed to providing the patient with the very best chance for remission. We feel that insurance companies and third-party payers routinely interfere with the delivery of medical care due to financial constraints. While the objective of our Center is to achieve remission in the patient, all too often the main objective of insurance companies is to minimize costs at the expense of the patient. Our Center is different because we strive to provide both medicine and care far beyond the standard norms in order to achieve remission. We do not accept any restrictions or impediments to the delivery of the very best medical care; therefore, we do not accept insurance or third-party payers. SOC will never guarantee a hospital admission for a patient. All hospital admission charges and related expenses are the responsibility of the patient, who will be required to make a deposit to the hospital prior to admission. Accordingly, all patients should arrive in SOC with a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express credit card that can be used for hospital admission expenses, should this be required. Your credit card(s) should be able to authorize a minimum of at least $35,000 as a deposit for hospital expenses.

Financial Planning

At SOC, we will devote ourselves to giving you the best possible medical advice and subsequent treatment. The following is for your information regarding financial estimates and financial planning related to consultation, testing, and treatment. Before you come to our Clinic, we would like to advise you of the following:

  1. A second opinion consultation with Dr. Salem may take one to two days and may cost between $800 and $2,000, depending on the time needed to provide you with our best medical advice for your individual case.
  2. Regarding the opinion, evaluation, and design of therapy/protocol, patients may wish to come to SOC and get an opinion after they are evaluated at the center. Evaluation will include blood studies and imaging studies and will take approximately 3 to 6 working days. Once the evaluation is complete, the radiologist will present the findings in the presence of the patient. This will be followed by the design of a specific treatment or protocol for the patient. A rough estimate for giving an opinion after an evaluation and the design of a treatment program is between $20,000 and $45,000.
  3. When patients decide to move forward with treatment at SOC, they will need to make an initial deposit of $250,000. This is only a deposit and NOT the cost of the cycle, nor is this an estimate or precise cost of treatment. From this deposit, funds will be deducted and used to pay for services. Should the patient decide to discontinue treatment at SOC, they will be refunded any unused amount.
  4. Before a patient begins a cycle, whether it is the initial cycle or a subsequent cycle, funds must be deposited into their account before any treatment is started or continued. No treatment will be given if a patient’s account is in the negative.
  5. Patients who are interested in receiving therapy at SOC should be aware that a cycle of treatment varies between 3 to 5 weeks and that this medical treatment consists of two key components: anti-cancer therapy and supportive therapy.
    • SOC’s unique brand of anti-cancer therapy is called “ICTriplex” and consists of a combination of Immunotherapy, Chemotherapy, and Targeted treatment. Standard chemotherapy is generally inexpensive, relatively speaking. However, the emergence of immunotherapy and targeted treatment has significantly increased the cost of treatment.
    • Supportive therapy is the treatment that a patient receives every day in order to reduce the side effects of anti-cancer treatment and to give the patient a quality of life as close to normal as possible. Supportive therapy includes but is not limited to the administration of Neupogen, Procrit, and Nplate, blood transfusions, antibiotics, as well as treatment for infections, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. Due to the unique needs of each patient and their differing responses to treatment, even if the length of the cycle remains the same, the costs may vary because of the unpredictable nature of supportive care. Therefore, even after we evaluate the patient, the estimate we give is subject to change since we cannot predict what kind of supportive therapy the patient may need.
  6. The cost of each cycle can vary for a patient. Although anti-cancer therapy can be fairly consistent, supportive therapy may not remain the same. For instance, one cycle can cost $200,000 while the next cycle may be $280,000 because of costs related to additional supportive care that were not needed in the previous cycle.
  7. When a patient is discharged from SOC and returns home, they will have the option of continuing to be remotely cared for and monitored by the SOC staff. If the patient decides to do so, they are considered to be “on the P”, which stands for “Package”. Being “on the P” means that the patients care will be the responsibility of SOC. The patient and their family can freely communicate with the SOC staff whenever the need arises as if they were still physically at the clinic. SOC will continue to participate in the decision making regarding the care and treatment of the patient. All outside studies will be reviewed by our clinical staff and SOC will remain involved in the decision of dose and schedule of drugs and treatment. Patients who decline “the P” will not have access to these privileges and will not be the responsibility of SOC. Their care and treatment will be fully transferred to their local treating physician. If the patient elects to be “on the P” and remain under the care of our center, they will be required to pay a monthly up-front deposit of $10,000. From this monthly deposit, $2,500 will be deducted for each full week that the “P” is used. If a full week is not utilized, the patient will not be charged for that week. If at any point the patient chooses to terminate their participation in “the P”, any unused portion of their deposited funds will be refunded to them.
  8. At any time during your stay with SOC, our Business Office will welcome the opportunity to provide you with a copy of your account statement and discuss with you any financial matters or concerns you may have.
  9. For your convenience, SOC accepts the following forms of payment: wire transfer, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, cash, and checks drawn on U.S. banks.
  10. If you have any questions about SOC’s financial policies, please do not hesitate to email our Director of Accounting & Finance, Cesar Andino, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and/or our Accounts Receivable Analyst, Deema Alrasheed, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Our business office hours are 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM CST, Monday through Friday. It is important to recognize that the Business Office works independently of the Clinical Department. Therefore, all financial matters should be discussed exclusively with the Business Office and not with our physicians or nursing staff.
  11. Before starting treatment or within the first few days of treatment, the CFO will meet with the patient and their family to discuss the financial policy and to make sure this policy is clear and understandable to the patient. After the policy is explained, the patient will acknowledge receipt and acceptance by signing below. The signed copy will then be filed in the official chart of the patient.
  12. If you prefer to communicate in a language other than English, please contact the following SOC staff members for assistance:
    • Spanish: Isaura Montes
    • Spanish: Cesar Andino
    • Spanish, Italian, Greek: Eleni A. Papageorge
    • Spanish, Italian: Kathy Galvis
    • Arabic, French: Samia Salem Yazbeck
    • Italian, French: Milly Russom