James Van Der Beek’s death rekindles a painful question about U.S. healthcare

James Van Der Beek was one of the biggest stars of the late 1990s and early 2000s. His family still couldn’t afford the cost of cancer.

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The actor, 48, best known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in the ’90s hit Dawson’s Creek, died Wednesday.

Van Der Beek’s passing comes a little more than a year after he announced on social media that he was battling colorectal cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2023. And while the actor and father’s untimely death is undeniably tragic, there’s another heartbreaking piece of the story to be told. His family was desperately struggling to afford the cost of his cancer treatment.

Despite having enjoyed a successful career—which included hits like Varsity Blues (1999) and The Rules of Attraction (2002), as well as playing the lead role in a popular TV drama for six seasons—the actor still spent the final years of his life struggling financially.

Last year, Van Der Beek teamed up with the auction house Propstore to sell his personal collection of memorabilia, wardrobe items, and set pieces from Dawson’s Creek and his most notable films to raise money for his treatment.

“I’ve been storing these treasures for years, waiting for the right time to do something with them. And with all of the recent unexpected twists and turns life has presented recently, it’s clear that the time is now,” Van Der Beek told People magazine at the time. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the auction raised around $47,000.

His plight begs the question: If one of the most successful actors of the late 1990s and early 2000s can’t afford cancer treatment in the United States, who can?

According to a 2022 survey from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), not many. Per the survey, more than 70% of respondents said they made significant lifestyle changes in order to afford their care. And more than half (51%) went into medical debt due to treatment.

The statistics were worse for certain groups, with women more likely to report medical debt than men (57% versus 36%), and Black Americans more likely to go into debt than white Americans (62% versus 52%). Likewise, states with fewer people enrolled in Medicaid had higher rates of medical debt due to cancer (58% compared with 49% in states with expanded Medicaid offerings). But overall, almost three-quarters of the cancer patients surveyed were worried about being able to afford the cost of their current care, as well as costs that may stack up in the future (73%).