Cancer Diagnosed Later & Deaths Higher in the Uninsured
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 2:39
Not surprisingly, a recent study has shown a direct link between health insurance status and timely cancer diagnosis and cancer deaths. The study showed that people who are either uninsured or rely on Medicaid as their insurance carrier are much more likely to have their cancers diagnosed at an advanced, and often untreatable stage. Sadly, this delayed diagnosis was seen in cancers that display early symptoms and even have effective screening tests like colorectal cancer and breast cancer.
I think it’s most shocking that people utilizing the Medicaid system are receiving such late diagnoses. Perhaps it is because of lapses in coverage that are so common in the Medicaid population, due to paperwork backlogs and errors, and changes in eligibilty.
In addition to late diagnosis, the uninsured are 60% more likely to die of cancer. This is probably due to a combination of late diagnosis, and inability to access expensive treatment options that are available to patients with private health insurance.
Clearly, there is no perfect health insurance system, and even privately insured individuals face battles over coverage for certain cancer treatments and medications. With the rising cost of health care and insurance, and the fact that 1 in 7 Americans is now uninsured, we may just start to see a backslide in all the progress we’ve made towards treating and curing cancer, simply because we can’t afford it.
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