Alternative Funding Programs: The Hidden Layer of Cancer Care Access

Lessons From a Financial Navigator

Over the years, I've had thousands of conversations withpatients and families trying to figure out the same things. In this episode, I share 15 lessons I learned from those conversations. Not because every situation is the same, but because there are certain questions, surprises, and challenges that seem to come up again and again. My hope is that hearing them now makes the road a little easier if you ever need them later.

The Cost of Staying in Care: The Role of Financial Navigation

In this episode of Care in the Middle, Rifeta is joined by Aimee Hoch, MSW, LSW, OSW-C, FACCC, together they explore the evolving role of financial navigation in cancer care. They discuss the invisible work happening behind the scenes to help patients access and stay in treatment. The conversation highlights how financial navigation has become an essential part of modern oncology care and why these roles are critical to care continuity, access, and patient outcomes.

Alternative Funding Programs: The Hidden Layer of Cancer Care Access

What happens when a patient has insurance, but still can’t easily access treatment? Behind the scenes of cancer care, Alternative Funding Programs (AFPs) are quietly reshaping how treatment is accessed and paid for. In this episode, I break down AFPs, a growing benefit design strategy that shifts the cost of high-priced therapies away from insurers and onto outside assistance programs, often creating new barriers for patients and care teams along the way.

The Space in Between

In this first episode of Care in the Middle, host Rifeta Kajdić Hodžić introduces the idea behind the podcast and the space where cancer care truly unfolds. Drawing from her work in oncology navigation and her personal journey growing up between cultures, Rifeta reflects on the systems, conversations, and invisible work that shape the cancer experience. This episode explores why the “middle” of cancer care matters, the space where patients, families, clinicians, and advocates come together to navigate complex healthcare systems while trying to maintain stability. Along the way, ithighlights the invisible work, the human connections that shape the cancer journey, and the people who help others find their way through it.