All together, more than two million of 12 million U.S. adult
cancer survivors did not get one or more needed medical services
, the researchers estimate.
The study is being called the first to estimate how often
current and former patients have skipped getting care because of money
worries. It was led by Kathryn Weaver, a researcher at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in
Winston-Salem, N.C.
The work was based on national surveys of more than 110,000
people, including 6,600 cancer survivors, from 2003 through 2006. It was
released online Monday by the American Cancer Society’s medical
journal, Cancer.
Survey participants were asked if they had needed medical care
in the previous year but didn’t get it because they couldn’t afford it.
Cancer survivors younger than 65 were between 1.5 and 2 times more
likely to have said yes to that question than those who hadn’t had
cancer.
That makes sense — cancer survivors can be expected to have
more health problems, said David Howard, an Emory University researcher
who focuses on cancer spending.
“If anything, I was surprised it was so low,” said
Howard, who was not involved in the new study.
About eight percent of the cancer survivors in the survey
said they had put off medical care. The survey didn’t ask what kinds of
care they didn’t get — or if it was related to their cancer, Weaver
said.
Researchers think that only a small fraction though were
getting cancer treatment at the time, and that most had gotten through
their initial treatments.
About 10 percent of cancer survivors also said they had to
forgo filling prescriptions. Another 11 percent said they put off dental
care and three percent postponed mental health services because
of costs.
Other studies have concluded that the uninsured account for
about four percent of newly diagnosed cancer cases, and about four
percent of cancer deaths.
The new study suggests that far more than the uninsured are
struggling with medical bills. Those with insurance may still have
trouble paying for copays, deductibles and care not covered by their
plan, experts said.
