Insurance status linked to cance...(The probability of being uninsured varie...),Health

As our nations investments in cancer research provide greater understanding of how to prevent cancer, detect it early, and treat it effectively, access to health care becomes even more important to the American Cancer Societys goal of eliminating cancer as a major public health problem, said Otis Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. This report clearly suggests that insurance and cost-related barriers to care are critical to address if we want to ensure that all Americans are able to share in the progress we have achieved by having access to high-quality cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment services.

These findings put insurance status squarely on the table as an important factor in cancer care disparities, said Elizabeth Ward, Ph.D., director of surveillance research and co-author of the report. Its important to note that although variations in health insurance coverage likely contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in cancer outcomes, those disparities persist for several outcomes even when differences in insurance status are accounted for. So even if health insurance and financial barriers can be overcome, further research and interventions will be needed to address these other barriers.

The truth is that there are gaping holes in our health care safety n
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