scholarly journals Health Care Expenditure Burden of Cancer Care in the United States

Author(s):  
Joohyun Park ◽  
Kevin A. Look

Using nationwide data, this study estimated and compared annual health care expenditures per person between noncancer and cancer patients, and among patients with the 4 most common cancers. Two-part models were used to estimate mean expenditures for each group by source of payment and by service type. We found that cancer patients had nearly 4 times higher mean expenditures per person ($16 346) than those without cancer ($4484). These differences were larger among individuals aged 18 to 64 years than those ≥65 years. Medicare was the largest source of payment for cancer patients, especially among those ≥65 years. Among the 4 most common cancers, the most costly cancer was lung cancer. Ambulatory care visits accounted for the majority of health care expenditures for those with breast cancer, while for those with other cancers, inpatient services also contributed to a significant portion of expenditures especially among younger patients. This study demonstrates that cancer patients experience a substantially higher health care expenditure burden than noncancer patients, with lung cancer patients having the highest expenditures. Expenditure estimates varied by age group, source of payment, and service type, highlighting the need for comprehensive policies and programs to reduce the costs of cancer care.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e19122-e19122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elyse Fritschel ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Lu Li ◽  
J Zhang ◽  
Onur Baser

e19122 Background: More people die from lung cancer in the United States than any other cancer type, and despite improvements in survival for other cancer types, 5-year lung cancer survival has remained low (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lung Cancer. Available at www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung. Accessed February 04 , 2013; Youlden DR, Cramb SM, Baade PD. The international epidemiology of lung cancer: geographical distribution and secular trends. J Thorac Oncol. 2008; 8(3): 819-31.). This study aimed to describe the outcomes of lung cancer patients in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) population. Methods: A retrospective study of patients diagnosed with lung cancer during the study period of October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2010 was conducted using the Veterans Health Administration datasets. Lung cancer patients were identified using International Classification of Disease 9th Revision Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnosis code 162.xx. Descriptive statistics were calculated as means ± standard deviation (SD) and percentages. Comorbidities were measured for the 1-year baseline period before the disease identification date. Health care costs and utilization were measured for the 1-year follow-up period after the identification date. Results: In patients identified with lung cancer (n=73,150), common comorbidities included hypertension (n=21,377, 29.22%), chronic airway obstruction (n=14,305, 19.56%), abnormal findings on radiological and other lung field examination (n=12,437, 17.00%), and diabetes (n=11,569, 15.82%). Nearly half of all lung cancer patients had follow-up inpatient visits (46.47%), which translated to an average inpatient cost of $21,420 annually per patient. Nearly every patient studied had at least one follow-up outpatient visit (99.11%), and the average cost per patient totaled $12,986 annually ($12,110 for outpatient office and $411 for outpatient ER service costs). Conclusions: Inpatient and outpatient visits result in considerable health care costs for veteran lung cancer patients. Comorbid conditions are also relatively frequent in this population. Further research could elucidate economic outcomes for lung cancer patients by comorbidity severity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 511-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Engström ◽  
Mattias Elg

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore what motivates patients to participate in service development and how participation may influence their well-being. Health-care providers are increasingly adopting practices of customer participation in such activities to improve their services. Design/methodology/approach – This paper builds on an analysis of data from a service development project in which lung cancer patients contributed by sharing their ideas and experiences through diaries. Out of the 86 lung cancer patients who were invited to participate, 20 agreed to participate and 14 fully completed the task. The study builds on participants’ contributions, in-depth interviews with six participants and the reasons patients gave for not participating. Findings – This paper identifies a number of motives: non-interest in participating, restitution after poor treatment, desire for contact with others, volunteerism, desire to make a contribution and the enjoyment of having a task to complete. A self-determination theory perspective was adopted to show how the need to satisfy basic human needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness determines if and how patients participate. Participation may have important benefits for patients, especially an improved sense of relatedness. Practical implications – Service providers must be prepared to meet different patient needs in service development, ranging from the need to express strong distress to expressing creativity. By understanding the dynamics of motivation and well-being, organizers may achieve better results in terms of improved services and in patient well-being. Originality/value – This study makes a significant contribution to the study of customer participation in service development, especially in relation to health care, by offering a self-determination-based typology for describing different styles of patient participation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e20546-e20546
Author(s):  
Sarah Anne Fraser

e20546 I hope to present the trial protocol as a poster at ASCO with co design work commencing 2017. Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in NZ.1 85% of registrations annually are stage four at diagnosis, presenting a significant burden on resources. Despite novel therapies, survival is poor and quality of life is a key consideration in patient management .2,3 Currently the aim of surveillance is to detect for disease progression and follows a three monthly pattern. There is little literature around benefits of surveillance on survival, and quality of life in these patients. 4-6 Alternative approaches to surveillance should be evaluated to ensure safe, convenient, economical care. Lung cancer outcomes for Maori patients sit significantly lower than those for New Zealand Europeans. Maori patients are twice as likely to present with locally advanced disease and four times less likely to receive curative treatment (multivariate analysis). There are significant barriers for Maori patients to attending health care including time off work, health literacy, costs, child care, language barriers, and transport. 19 Ministry of Health data describes poor outcomes for Maori lung cancer patients with rate of death sitting at 3.4 times that of non-Maori. Co-Primary End Points To determine if there is a reduction in health services utilisation (ED visits, hospital visits, unplanned clinic visits, GP visits, and Nurse Specialist contact) with the end point identified at progression, lost to follow up, or death. To compare the impact of a novel virtual surveillance model (VSM) versus usual follow-up care on patient anxiety measured using the HADS-A tool. Methods: LuCaS is a Randomised Controlled trial in patients with advanced lung cancer randomised to virtual model or standard care. Results: recruitment begins this year. Conclusions: Hypothesis:A virtual follow up model for advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer patients, extensive stage small cell lung cancer patients, and mesothelioma patients will reduce health care utilisation and patient experienced anxiety defined by reduction in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A) score, while maintaining effectiveness detecting recurrence and survival.


2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 19683-19683
Author(s):  
M. Choi ◽  
W. Chan ◽  
J. Jaiwatana ◽  
T. Khansur

19683 Background: More than 2/3 of lung cancer patients are age = 65 and the proportion of elderly patients are expected to rise in the United States. However data on the use of optimal chemoradiotherapy in this group of patients are limited. Methods: All lung cancer patients = 65 years, who received both chemotherapy and radiation therapy at the G. V. Montgomery VAMC between Jan 2000 to Dec 2005, were analyzed from tumor registry and computerized medical records. Patients who only received palliative radiation therapy for bone and brain metastasis were excluded. Results: Among 652 lung cancer patients diagnose, 46 patients = 65 years received both chemotherapy and radiation therapy over the 6 year study period. The median age was 72 (range:65–84) and 70% of the patients were = 70 years. All patients were male with 65% white and 35% black population. The majority of patients were stage III (85%) while there was one stage I and six stage II patients. 41 patients (89%) were able to complete the planned radiation therapy and median dose delivered was 6140 cGy. The chemotherapy regimen was carboplatin and paclitaxel either weekly during radiation therapy and every three weeks in sequential treatment. There was only 1 treatment related mortality and only 15% of patients survived less than 6 months. The 1, 2, 3 year survival rates were 67%, 24%, and 15% respectively and median survival was 15.3 months. 15 patients were treated sequentially(S) with chemotherapy (median cycle-3) followed by radiation therapy and 31 patients concurrently (C) with chemoradiotherapy. (median- 5 weekly treatment) The survival among the two groups did not differ statistically. (median survival-19.1 month (S) vs. 14 month (C) p=0.78) Conclusions: Both sequential and concurrent chemoradiotherapy is feasible and beneficial in elderly patients with lung cancer. Sequential treatments might be as effective as concurrent chemoradiotherapy in elderly VA patient population. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e12522-e12522
Author(s):  
Dragana Jovanovic ◽  
Milan Rancic ◽  
Branislav Perin ◽  
Davorin Radosavljevic ◽  
Marta Velinovic ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e18117-e18117
Author(s):  
Shweta Shah ◽  
Joshua Noone ◽  
Christopher Michael Blanchette ◽  
Susan T Arthur

e18117 Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It is estimated that 60% of lung cancer patients are afflicted with cancer-associated cachexia syndrome (CACS) and approximately 10% of these patients will die due to CACS. We examined the impact of CACS on survival among lung cancer elderly patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using SEER-Medicare data. Patients were included if diagnosed with first primary lung cancer between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2010, at least 66 years of age, and continuously enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B in the 12 months prior to diagnosis. We identified cachexia in lung cancer patients using ICD-9 codes. Descriptive statistics were used to identify population characteristics. Propensity score (1:1 nearest neighbor) matching was performed between cachectic and non-cachectic lung cancer patients to compare survival. Results: We identified 84,518 lung cancer patients. Of these, 2,536 (3%) developed CACS after lung cancer diagnosis. The most common comorbid conditions among cachectic and non-cachectic groups were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (50% versus 45.62%), congestive heart failure (8.56% versus 13.38%), diabetes (7.41% versus 14.75%), peripheral vascular disease (3.82% versus 6.85%), and renal disease (3.63% versus 6.14%). Propensity score 1:1 matching for confounding bias and adjustment for immortal time bias resulted in a cohort of 3734 matched patients. Eighty-eight percent of patients in the cachectic group died during the follow-up period compared to 78% in the non-cachectic group. Median survival time among non-cachectic lung cancer patients was significantly longer than cachectic lung cancer patients (log-rank p < 0.0001). Specifically, median survival in non-cachectic patients was 201 days compared to 92 days among cachectic patients. Conclusions: The occurrence of CACS is independently associated with a significant decrease in survival among lung cancer elderly patients. The results of this study may be useful for identifying healthcare burden and planning treatment modalities for this population.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (5_suppl) ◽  
pp. 32-32
Author(s):  
Tara Perloff ◽  
Jennifer C. King ◽  
Maureen Rigney

32 Background: Clinical guidelines increasingly recommend an expansion of multidisciplinary care for oncology patients to include supportive and survivorship care. Despite recommendations, lung cancer patients may not access these services due to implementation challenges among health care delivery systems. Our study goal was to assess treatment and care planning from the perspectives of lung cancer patients and caregivers. Methods: A Community Needs Assessment survey was electronically distributed to lung cancer patients and caregivers. 820 people responded, including 471 patients and 349 caregivers. The overall completion rate was 72.6%. The survey assessed the patient’s care team, values-based discussions in care planning, discussions regarding palliative care, and survivorship care planning. Demographic information was collected to determine if patterns of care correlated with geographical or socioeconomic factors. Results: Less than 50% of patients reported having a conversation about their values and care goals with their treatment team before determining their treatment plan. Less than 30% of patients reported a mental health professional, social worker, palliative care specialist, or nurse navigator as part of their care team. Although research shows a survival benefit to lung cancer patients receiving palliative care, only 26.9% of active patients had discussed palliative care and 20.13% reported receiving it. For caregiver reported data, the patients receiving care had more advanced cancer and had often not survived. Of those who had completed treatment and survived more than 5 years beyond diagnosis, only 22% of patients and 15% of caregivers reported having a survivorship care plan. Conclusions: The majority of lung cancer patients and caregivers reported having not received palliative care, survivorship care plans, psychosocial support, or values-based discussions with their oncologist. Respondents were technology enabled and generally health literate indicating that these problems could be more widespread in rural, lower socioeconomic areas where lung cancer is common. Addressing these problems in health care delivery could positively impact the survivorship of lung cancer patients and their families.


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