Chapter 40
Floyd and I have been reading what Science
Daily has recently been
publishing about the Cost of Surviving Cancer.
Chapter's; 40 and 41 highlights two recent
articles they published . . .
Cancer Care Costs to More Than Double in
Some U.S. States by 2020
— Cancer-related medical costs, already a significant portion of
overall medical expenses in the United States, will more than double in some
states in less than eight years, according to a new study by researchers from
RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The
study, published in The American Journal of Managed Care,
includes state-by-state projections of cancer care costs through the year 2020.
According
to the study, cancer treatment costs will go up for every state in the nation,
ranging from a 34 percent increase in Washington D.C. to a 115 percent increase
in Arizona. State-level expenditures for 2020 (in 2010 dollars) will range from
$347 million in Washington D.C. to $28.3 billion in California.
"The
projections reflect expected demographic shifts," said Justin Trogdon,
Ph.D., a health economist at RTI and the lead author of the study. "The
states with the higher forecasted increase in costs also have the higher
forecasted increases in the number of residents over age 65. These estimates
provide a useful baseline against which to gauge the impact of cancer policies
and could be useful for guiding future investments in cancer prevention and
early detection."
The
states with the highest projected cancer-care costs were California ($28.3
billion), Florida ($24.9 billion), Texas ($19.6 billion) and New York ($17.4
billion). Washington, D.C. had the lowest projected cancer-care costs ($347
million), followed by Alaska ($508 million) and Wyoming ($539 million).
The
researchers used cancer prevalence data from the 2004 to 2008 Medical
Expenditure Panel Survey along with U.S. Census Bureau population forecasts to
determine how many people in each state will likely need cancer treatment in
2020 and what the average cost of treatment will be.
State-level
estimates of the number of residents needing cancer treatment between 2010 and
2020 varied significantly across states, ranging from a 7 percent decline in
cancer cases in Washington D.C. to 46 percent increase in Arizona.
The
states with the largest projected increases in the number of people treated for
cancer include Florida (353,000), California (351,000) and Texas (249,000).
"Effective
prevention and early detection strategies are needed to limit the growing
burden of cancer," Trogdon said. "We hope that these findings are
useful for states as they try to make evidence-based decisions about the
allocation of resources for cancer research and interventions as well as other
policy decisions related to cancer prevention and treatment."
The
projections in the study were based on the assumption that the percentage of
people treated for cancer would remain constant within age, sex and state
categories and that the inflation-adjusted cost of cancer care per person will
increase by 3.6 percent per year.
Story
Source:
The above
story is based on materials provided by RTI International.
Journal
Reference:
Justin G. Trogdon, Florence K. L. Tangka,
Donatus U. Ekwueme, Gery P. Guy Jr., Isaac Nwaise, Diane Orenstein.State-Level Projections of
Cancer-Related Medical Care Costs: 2010 to 2020. The
American Journal of Managed Care, 2012; 18 (9): 525-532 [link]
RTI International (2012, September 24). Cancer
care costs to more than double in some U.S. states by 2020. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved July 24,
Floyd and I agree that Cancer Care Costs can More
Than Double in Some U.S. States by 2020
You can decide if Science Daily and Floyd
& I share
your point of view . . . or not
Til’ we chat again,
Remember . . .
"Leave a wake behind you, that you would want others to leave for you."
Floyd & I
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