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Gregory J. Riely, MD, PhD
Gregory J. Riely, MD, PhD
Posted: Monday, September 30, 2024
According to Jingxuan Zhao, PhD, MPH, of the American Cancer Society, Atlanta, and colleagues, Medicaid expansion may improve the lives of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). During the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Care Symposium (Abstract 47), these researchers presented the results of their study evaluating the impact of Medicaid expansion on survival outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed NSCLC.
“Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act improved health insurance coverage among patients with cancer,” mentioned the investigators. “Medicaid expansion may improve access to NSCLC care and outcomes across the cancer control continuum, from early-stage diagnosis, treatment initiation, and overall survival.”
The data on 332,368 adults with newly diagnosed, stage I to IV, first primary NSCLC were obtained from the National Cancer Database. The correlation of diagnosis stage, timely initiation of treatment that was concordant with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) within 30 days of cancer diagnosis, receipt of said treatment, and 5-year overall survival with Medicaid expansion was evaluated. A difference-in-difference approach was enacted to evaluate the change in study outcomes, controlling for key clinical and sociodemographic factors.
Medicaid expansion led to an 8.7% and 7.2% increase in early diagnosis in Medicaid expansion (23.1% to 31.9%) and nonexpansion (22.3% to 29.5%) states, respectively; this yielded a greater increase of 1.7% in Medicaid expansion states after data adjustment. Of note, the expansion of Medicaid contributed to greater increases in receipt of guideline-concordant care and 5-year overall survival in both Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states.
Disclosure: Dr. Zhao reported no conflicts of interest. For full disclosures of the other study authors, visit coi.asco.org.
2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium
JNCCN Spotlights
