Medicaid Continuity Tips for Lowering Late-Phase Lymphoma Risk

A survey print today in Blood Advances found that continuous registration in Medicaid was associate to a lower_berth rate of late-phase lymphoma diagnosis in child and AYAs. Lymphoma, the third most park cancer among child and AYAs in the United States, has see new treatment option emerge, but there remains a significant result gap between insured and uninsured person with the disease.

research_worker, light-emitting_diode by Xu Ji, PhD, from Emory University School of Medicine and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, conduct an experimental survey of 3,524 participant with Hodgkin lymphoma ( HL ) or not-Hodgkin lymphoma ( NHL ). The survey use the SEER cancer register and Medicaid registration data to determine the impact of timing and continuity of Medicaid registration on lymphoma phase at diagnosis in child and AYAs enroll in Medicaid.

The findings uncover that only 37.8% of Medicaid-insured child and AYAs were continuously enroll in Medicaid before diagnosis, highlight a potential issue of delay registration until after a significant health event like a cancer diagnosis. This delay could consequence in miss opportunity for early evaluation and timely referral to oncologist for diagnostic testing and therapy initiation.

Among the patient sample, 32.2% were diagnose with phase IV lymphoma, the most advance phase, at diagnosis. continuous Medicaid coverage was strongly associate with a lower_berth likelihood of a late-phase lymphoma diagnosis, with the model-adjust probability of have phase IV lymphoma at diagnosis being lower_berth for those continuously enroll in Medicaid compare to those newly enroll or with other registration patterns.

Dr. Ji stress the importance of early detection and evaluation for better prognosis and result for lymphoma patient, particularly in reduction the hazard of intensifier treatment, disease progression, or backsliding associate with late-phase diagnosis. The survey also foreground the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Medicaid disenrollment, which affect million of person and underscore the need for continuous coverage to guarantee timely entree to care.

travel forward, Dr. Ji and her colleague propose policy change that could supply uninterrupted Medicaid coverage for 12 or 24 calendar_month without the need for eligibility recertification to address coverage break and reduce late-phase lymphoma diagnosis. Despite the experimental nature of the survey and its restriction, the research_worker are perpetrate to further investigation why person delay Medicaid registration until after a cancer diagnosis.