An American Cancer Society study found states with expanded Medicaid status had more insurance coverage for newly diagnosed cancer patients and fewer uninsured patients.
The study, published in Health Affairs Scholar, analyzed data from the Cancer Incidence in North America report for 2010-2019. Researchers found more than 6.4 million incident cancer cases with known insurance status diagnoses at 18-64 years old from 49 states.
Here are three key study findings:
- In 2019, 16.9% of cancer cases had Medicaid coverage at diagnosis.
- In states with Medicaid expansion status, insurance coverage for such cases increased from 14.1% in 2010 to 19.9% in 2019, while it remained at 12.5% in non-expansion states.
- The uninsured rate of newly diagnosed cancer cases decreased from 4.9% to 2.1% in expanded states and decreased slightly in non-expanded states, from 9.5% to 8.1%.
"This study is further proof that expanding Medicaid increases access to comprehensive health insurance and we know that alone can increase the chances that cancer is diagnosed early which in turn augments the likelihood that someone survives the disease. In short, expanding this health insurance program is saving lives," Lisa Lacasse, president of ACS CAN, said in a Jan. 11 organization news release.