Costs for lung cancer care are substantial and Medicare paid a smaller proportion of the total cost in 2003 than in 1992.

Lung cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis in the U.S. Lung cancer care accounts for 20% of Medicare's total expenditures for cancer. Medicare beneficiaries with cancer can face substantial financial burdens.

The objective of a study co-authored by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School was to estimate costs for lung cancer care and evaluate trends in the share of costs that are the responsibility of Medicare beneficiaries.

Costs that are the patient's responsibility may be paid in part or whole by employer-sponsored supplemental coverage, Medicaid dual-eligibility, or through patient-purchased Medigap coverage. But for Medicare beneficiaries without supplemental coverage, monthly out-of-pocket costs for some lung cancer treatments approached the median monthly income for Americans over age 65.

The study's lead author, Lauren Cipriano (now a graduate student at Stanford University) said, "Our analysis concurs with findings from other studies showing that Medicare beneficiaries are responsible for paying an ever-larger share of the costs. Awareness of trends in cost-sharing is important to prevent worsening of sociodemographic disparities in access and quality of care." Says Pamela McMahon, of Massachusetts General Hospital, "If the cost trends we observed (i.e. patient-liability increasing faster than total costs) continued past 2003, scientific advancements in lung cancer care may represent clinical advancements only for those with generous supplemental insurance. However, we know that employer sponsored supplemental coverage is decreasing in frequency and in generosity of benefits and the cost of Medigap coverage is increasing."

This will be discussed in Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and outcomes Research.

Value in Health publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 5,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.

Source:
ISPOR