Hidden Skin Cancer Costs — Your Scheme or Insurance Won't Pay

Aarogyasri and most insurance packages cover surgery, approved drugs and the listed radiation sessions. They often do not cover a repeat biopsy to recheck margins, a PET-CT scan for staging or restaging, a BRAF mutation test used to plan targeted treatment for melanoma, or dermoscopy done at follow-up visits. These are billed on top of the package total. Ask your CION team, before treatment starts, which of these tests your specific case is likely to need, so the cost appears in your estimate instead of on a bill later.

Beyond hospital bills, families usually pay for travel to and from the centre, a place to stay if daily radiation means weeks away from home, and a caregiver's lost wages if someone stops working to accompany the patient. Wound-care supplies used at home after surgery also add up over weeks. None of these are covered by Aarogyasri or most insurance. If you are travelling from a district or North Andhra Pradesh, ask CION about the total number of visits needed, so you can plan stay and travel costs in advance rather than trip by trip.

No. After active treatment ends, most patients still need regular follow-up visits with a skin check, along with blood tests and occasional scans if anything looks concerning. This continues for a few years, tapering off over time. Each visit carries its own consultation, test and travel cost, even though it is smaller than active treatment. Families who budget only for surgery, drugs or radiation are often surprised by this ongoing cost. Ask CION for a rough follow-up schedule for your specific case, so these recurring costs are part of your overall plan, not a later surprise.

Bring your Aarogyasri or insurance approval letter to your first visit, and ask the counselling team for a written, line-by-line estimate — not just the scheme-approved total. Ask them to name every test, drug, admission day and session separately, and to flag which ones fall outside your package. Also ask about likely non-medical costs, such as travel or stay if you need daily sessions. Request the estimate on paper or by email before you give consent for treatment, and ask for it to be updated if your treatment plan changes at any stage.

The BRAF test is a gene test done on a piece of the tumour to check whether targeted tablets are likely to help, mainly in melanoma. It is a specialised laboratory test, and many scheme and insurance packages list only surgery, standard drugs and radiation as covered items. Whether this test is billed to you depends on your specific policy or scheme rules, so ask your CION team and your insurer or scheme office directly, before the sample is sent, whether this cost is covered or falls on the family.

Families travelling from outside Hyderabad usually face repeat travel for tests, treatment sessions and follow-up visits, plus the cost of staying near the centre if treatment runs for several weeks, as with daily radiation. A caregiver often loses wages for the days they are away from work. None of this appears in a scheme or insurance estimate, since those only cover medical items. Ask CION early about the total number of visits your treatment plan needs, so you can weigh staying near the centre for a stretch against travelling back and forth each time.