Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Maryland program

A state fund for treatment bills insurance leaves (Maryland Cancer Fund)

A Maryland Department of Health fund that pays toward cancer treatment costs for uninsured or underinsured residents, children included, through local health departments and approved programmes.

What it is

A Maryland Department of Health fund that pays toward cancer treatment costs for uninsured or underinsured residents, children included, through local health departments and approved programmes.

Treatment bills insurance leaves unpaid are the fund's purpose, and children are named in its rules. It is not a form you fill in: a coordinator at the local health department applies for the family, and grants are open only while the fund has money, so the coordinator's answer comes first.

Eligibility rules
  • Annual family income not more than 250% of the federal poverty guidelines.
  • Proof that your child has lived in Maryland for at least six months before the application.
  • Uninsured, or insured with a plan that does not cover the cancer service; the fund cannot pay for care insurance, including Medicaid, already covers.
  • Children are covered: a parent or guardian signs for a child under 18.
What you get
  • Up to $20,000 a year toward cancer diagnosis and treatment costs the family would otherwise pay.
  • Deductibles and copays for an insured child, up to an amount the Department sets each year.
What the help covers
  • Direct treatment costs up to $20,000 per person per year, paid at Medicaid or hospital-commission rates.
  • Deductibles and patient contributions for an insured child, up to an amount the Department sets.
  • Not major medical equipment, renovations or capital costs.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask 410-767-6213 or your local health department's cancer programme whether treatment grants are funded this year.
  2. Ask what counts as underinsured for your child's plan and which bills the grant can pay.
  3. Have proof of six months' Maryland residence, insurance details and household income ready for the coordinator.

Maryland Department of Health, Center for Cancer Prevention and Control, 410-767-6213 · Official page ↗

After the call
  • The Center for Cancer Prevention and Control reviews each treatment application and the Secretary of Health makes the final decision; ask the coordinator how long decisions are taking this year.
Good to know

Families cannot apply directly and grants depend on the money the fund has; the coordinator's answer decides whether there is anything to pursue.

Other details
  • Grants are open through the year only to the extent the fund has money, and the state publishes nothing about the current year, so the local coordinator is the only source for whether it is funded.
  • Local health departments run their own intake; Carroll County, for example, takes treatment-grant calls on 410-876-4949.
  • Children's Medical Services is Maryland's other door for a child's treatment costs; the two are separate programmes with separate rules.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Our insurance leaves cancer treatment bills unpaid. Could you find out whether the Maryland Cancer Fund is funded for treatment grants this year and whether we fit its income line, and help us reach the local coordinator?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know whether the state fund can pick up treatment bills before they go to collections.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

One call to ask whether grants are funded this year and whether you fit; then the coordinator applies for you.

Your social worker

The hospital social worker often knows whether the local health department's cancer programme is funded this year.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The Center for Cancer Prevention and Control reviews the application and the Secretary of Health makes the final decision.
Ask the agency
“My child has leukemia and our insurance leaves treatment bills unpaid. Is the Maryland Cancer Fund funded for treatment grants this year, and does our income fit its line?”

How to apply

First step: Call 410-767-6213 or your local health department's cancer programme and ask whether treatment grants are open.

  1. Call 410-767-6213 or the local health department's cancer programme and ask whether treatment grants are funded this year.
  2. Ask what counts as underinsured for your child's plan and which bills the grant can pay.
  3. Have proof of six months' Maryland residence, insurance details and household income ready for the coordinator.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Call 410-767-6213 or your local health department's cancer programme and ask whether treatment grants are funded this year; if they are, the coordinator applies for your child.

What to gather

  • Proof your child has lived in Maryland for six months
  • Insurance cards and any bills left unpaid
  • Household income

How long: Not published; ask the coordinator how long decisions are taking this year.

What a yes looks like

The coordinator confirms grants are funded, your family fits the income line, and applies for you; the Secretary of Health makes the final decision.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask whether it is funding, the income line, insurance that already covers the care, or another rule, and whether Children's Medical Services is the better door.

Watch out

  • Families cannot apply directly; the local health department or a state-funded cancer programme applies for you.
  • Grants are open only while the fund has money, so the coordinator's answer comes before any planning around it.
  • The application needs proof your child has lived in Maryland for at least six months.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 25, 2026.

What it is worth

Up to $20,000 a year toward a child's cancer treatment costs for an uninsured or underinsured family under 250% of the poverty line, through a local coordinator, while the fund has money.

  • $20,000/year — Direct cancer treatment costs per person per year, maximum

Covers: Help with cancer diagnosis and treatment costs · Deductibles and patient contributions for an insured child, up to an amount the Department sets

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Insurance
uninsured, or insured with a plan that does not cover the cancer service; the fund cannot pay for care insurance (including Medicaid) already covers
Diagnosis
a cancer diagnosis or a finding suggestive of cancer; a parent or guardian applies for a child under 18
Income
annual family income not more than 250% of the federal poverty guidelines
Residency
proof of Maryland residence for at least six months before the application
Route
through an approved local health department or MDH-funded programme, which acts as the family's representative; families cannot apply directly
Funding
grants are open through the year only to the extent funding is available

Decisions this site cannot make: Whether treatment grants are funded this year, and the family's fit with the income, residency and insurance rules, reviewed by the Center for Cancer Prevention and Control and decided by the Secretary of Health

Expect friction on: Families cannot apply directly; a local health department or approved programme applies for them, only while the fund has money

The trap: Families cannot apply directly, and grants are open only while the fund has money. The call to the coordinator comes before anything else.

Where I read this

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