Medicaid enrollment associated with higher risk of cancer death

Enrollment in Medicaid was associated with higher risk of death from a central nervous system (CNS) tumor, with an almost two-fold higher risk for young CNS tumor patients enrolled at diagnosis, finds a study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

“We found a higher risk for those insured through Medicaid than for those not enrolled in Medicaid,” said Kimberly Johnson, a professor and lead author of the paper “Associations between central nervous system tumor diagnosis stage and survival and Medicaid enrollment among children, adolescents, and young adults,” published in October in the journal Neuro-Oncology Practice.

“These findings are consistent with our previous findings and the findings of many other researchers,” she said. “I think that Medicaid may be a marker for other social factors that make it difficult to focus on and get the health care you need when you need it.”

Johnson and her co-authors used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Medicaid-linked data to examine associations between Medicaid enrollment and enrollment timing and diagnosis stage and death from a central nervous system tumor.

Individuals diagnosed with a first malignant primary CNS tumor between birth and 39 years of age from 2006-2013 were included with follow-up for death through 2018.

CNS tumors are abnormal growth of cells in the brain or spinal cord.

“Our results support the critical need for consistent health insurance coverage for young CNS tumor patients,” Johnson said.

“Being on Medicaid does not necessarily provide patients with consistent access to health care because some patients lose eligibility,” she said. “This could be because they no longer qualify due to household income increases or they fail to have their eligibility verified by the state who administers the Medicaid program. For example, if they moved, they may not receive a reminder in the mail letting them know that they need to fill out paperwork to keep their Medicaid. This often occurs annually but depends on the state.”