Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion does not reduce guideline concordant cancer care disparities in vulnerable populations.

Abstract

2039 Background: The receipt of timely, guideline concordant cancer amongst racial/ethnic and socioeconomic vulnerable populations remains a significant health policy issue. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) with implementation of Medicaid Expansion sought to reduce cancer disparities by reducing uninsured rates, theoretically improving healthcare access and delivery. We assessed the impact of Medicaid expansion on racial/ethnic disparities in the receipt of timely guideline concordant cancer care. Methods: We identified patients between 40-64 years of age with all stages of cancer (lung, colorectal, breast, uterine, and cervical) in the National Cancer Database, 2012-2015. Patients were assigned to Medicaid expansion cohort based on state of residence and whether Medicaid expansion was enacted at date of diagnosis in that state. Guideline concordant care was defined based on NCCN guidelines. We constructed an ecological model with multivariate regression analysis on rate of guideline concordant care receipt with covariates including race/ethnicity, Medicaid expansion, SES, gender, Charlson-Deyo score, and treatment facility type. Results: We identified 445,952 patients, 12% Black, 6% Hispanic white, median age 55 years. Patients in the lowest SES quartile following Medicaid expansion had the greatest increase in rates of insured status, although all SES quartiles had increased insured rates compared to non-Medicaid expansion regardless of race/ethnicity. In our ecological model, the rate of receipt of guideline concordant care declined by 0.5% per year between 2012-2015. After adjusting for covariates, Asians were 2.8% less likely to receive guideline concordant care than non-Hispanic whites, Blacks 3.8% less likely, and Hispanics 6.3% less likely (p < 0.0001). Racial/ethnic disparities in receipt of guideline concordant cancer care remained after Medicaid expansion with no differential benefit. Conclusions: Insurance gains under the ACA Medicaid expansion did not affect the rate of guideline concordant care receipt. Significant racial disparities persist in the likelihood of receiving guideline concordant care, particularly among Hispanics. Further studies are needed to determine additional barriers to cancer care access/delivery and identify key targets aimed at improving equity.