Black patients with advanced colorectal cancer had a 12.6% reduction in mortality in Medicaid-expansion states, compared with a 6.1% reduction in nonexpanded states.
Naveen Manisundaram, MD (above), and his colleagues at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston analyzed data from the National Cancer Database to compare mortality rates for patients with gastrointestinal cancers by race and by state before (2009-2013) and after Medicaid expansion (2014-2019).
“We found that Black patients in expansion states with stage IV disease experienced a net increase in receipt of surgery following Medicaid expansion compared to patients in non-expansion states,” Manisundaram said.
Although not all states have expanded Medicaid, the results from this study demonstrate that the expansion is associated with an improved survival from colorectal cancer in Black patients. These results were presented at a 2023 scientific meeting.
See “Improved Survival Outcomes Are Observed In GI Cancers With Medicaid Expansion” by Darlene Dobkowski on the Oncology Nursing News website (May 25, 2023)
