Can Reimbursement Assumptions Create Participant Burden In Clinical Trials?

Before the first participant enrolls, a clinical trial should decide on the cost of participating: how far people will travel, lodging, whether a caregiver will join, and whether participants can pay first and wait for reimbursement. These estimates are reasonable, but when real participants don’t fit them, the gap becomes the participants’ burden.

In a 2026 survey of more than 1,000 U.S. cancer patients and survivors, about nine in ten said distance, visit frequency, and non-medical costs mattered when considering a trial. Most past participants in the survey received no sponsor help with travel or lodging. Even a fully reimbursable policy can create barriers through upfront airfare, lodging caps, mileage cutoffs, or overlooked caregiving costs, and payment timing can matter as much as the amount. Current protocol guidance names reimbursement as a retention tool, so the assumptions behind it deserve the same scrutiny as the budget itself. Test your reimbursement assumptions now, before they become the reason participants struggle to stay in your study.