Medical costs are a minority of the total costs of cancer in adolescents and young adults
February 8, 2024
This is a reprint of a post from March, 2023. I’ll be back tomorrow with a new post on the value of offering pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV without cost sharing.
The Journal of Clinical Oncology published research last spring demonstrating that the economic cost of cancer in those from 15-39 years old is enormous. The lifetime personal costs to those young adults with cancer outweigh the cost of medical care itself. The researchers looked at many factors impacting cost, including the cost of medical care, lost productivity, value of disability-adjusted years of life lost, and other financial aspects, ranging from tax loss to funeral costs.
The good news is that the 5-year survival rate in this group is 85%, and death rates continue to decrease. Cancer survivors had a 67% workforce participation rate, compared to 73% in a matched population.
Here is a summary of calculated costs:
The researchers used a federal survey (Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, MEPS), which may have understated medical costs . This research estimated the productivity cost of caregivers based on hourly home health aide wages.
Implications for employers:
While we often focus on medical claims cost, this study highlights the productivity and other economic losses caused by cancer.
Employers should continue their efforts to encourage screening for early detection of cancer, and encourage childhood vaccinations that can prevent future cancers
The HPV vaccine can prevent cervical and head and neck cancer, and the hepatitis B vaccine can prevent liver cancer.
Although treatment of cancer is expensive, the economic value of improved cancer treatment has been enormous.
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Tomorrow: Implementing cost sharing for PrEP drugs could leave many unprotected against HIV (a new post)