Continuous enrollment in Medicaid was associated with a lower rate of a late-stage lymphoma diagnosis in children and adolescents/young adults (AYAs). However, fewer than half of Medicaid-insured patients in these age ranges were continuously enrolled before diagnosis, according to a study published today in Blood Advances. Lymphoma – which is divided into two types, Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) – is a cancer of the lymphatic system and the third most common cancer among children (ages 0-14 years) and AYAs (ages 15-39 years) in the United States.
New treatment options have emerged for the disease, increasing the five-year survival rate, but there is a significant outcomes gap between insured and uninsured children and AYAs with lymphoma. In an observational study of 3,524 participants with HL or NHL, Xu Ji, PhD, assistant professor in the department of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and her colleagues used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry and Medicaid enrollment data to determine if there was an association between the timing of Medicaid enrollment and coverage continuity with lymphoma stage at diagnosis in children and AYAs enrolled in Medicaid. Many people do not enroll in Medicaid, despite being eligible, until something happens, such as a cancer diagnosis.
However, it may be too late at that point because they .