TABLE 3. Prevalence of material and psychological financial hardship associated with cancer survivors aged 18–64 years (N = 910), cancer treatment, or lasting effects of treatment — Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Experiences with Cancer Survey, United States, 2011 and 2016.
| Characteristic | Material hardship (need to borrow money, go into debt, declare bankruptcy, or be unable to cover cost share) |
Psychological hardship (worry about medical bills) |
|---|---|---|
| % (95% CI)* | % (95% CI)* | |
|
Total
|
25.3 (22.4–28.5)
|
34.3 (30.6–38.1)
|
|
Age group at interview (yrs)
| ||
| 18–39 |
27.1 (17.8–36.4) |
40.5 (29.2–51.8) |
| 40–49 |
34.2 (26.0–42.4) |
47.2 (38.2–56.2) |
| 50–64 |
22.3 (18.9–25.8) |
29.7 (25.4–34.0) |
|
Sex
| ||
| Men |
22.1 (16.7–27.5) |
33.7 (26.5–41.0) |
| Women |
26.7 (22.6–30.8) |
34.5 (30.2–38.8) |
|
Race/Ethnicity
| ||
| White, non-Hispanic |
23.8 (20.2–27.4) |
32.6 (28.0–37.1) |
| Black, non-Hispanic |
31.3 (22.9–39.8) |
40.3 (30.9–49.7) |
| All other races/ethnicities |
29.8 (22.4–37.1) |
40.7 (32.2–49.1) |
|
Marital status
| ||
| Married |
25.1 (20.4–29.8) |
34.7 (30.1–39.3) |
| Not married† |
25.6 (20.5–30.6) |
33.6 (27.4–39.7) |
|
Educational attainment
| ||
| Less than high school graduate |
27.2 (17.1–37.3) |
36.6 (26.5–46.7) |
| High school graduate |
23.6 (18.0–29.2) |
32.0 (25.3–38.7) |
| Some college or more |
25.7 (21.9–29.5) |
34.8 (30.3–39.4) |
|
Family income
| ||
| Poor (<100% FPL) |
26.8 (17.6–36.0) |
30.6 (20.5–40.8) |
| Near poor and low income (100%–200% FPL) |
36.1 (28.5–43.6) |
32.8 (24.6–41.1) |
| Middle and high income (>200% FPL) |
22.5 (18.5–26.4) |
35.2 (30.3–40.2) |
|
Health insurance status
| ||
| Any private |
21.9 (18.1–25.7) |
32.5 (27.9–37.0) |
| Public only§ |
33.1 (24.1–42.1) |
35.9 (26.0–45.7) |
| Uninsured |
36.5 (23.2–49.8) |
49.4 (35.4–63.4) |
|
Employment status
| ||
| Full-time |
26.7 (22.0–31.3) |
35.0 (30.0–40.0) |
| Part-time |
30.6 (15.4–45.7) |
28.7 (10.4–46.9) |
| Not working |
23.0 (17.6–28.5) |
34.1 (28.5–39.7) |
|
MEPS priority conditions
¶
| ||
| Zero or one |
24.8 (19.7–29.9) |
31.0 (25.8–36.1) |
| Two |
22.8 (16.0–29.6) |
33.6 (25.2–42.0) |
| Three or more |
27.7 (22.1–33.3) |
40.2 (32.9–47.4) |
|
Yrs since last cancer treatment**
| ||
| <5 |
27.8 (22.9–32.6) |
40.4 (34.3–46.5) |
| ≥5 or never treated/Missing | 23.3 (19.2–27.3) | 29.1 (24.3–34.0) |
Abbreviations: CI = confidence interval; FPL = federal poverty level.
* Predicted percentages from a logistic model controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, health insurance status, employment status, and number of conditions (excluding cancer).
† Not married included widowed, divorced, separated, or never married.
§ Public insurance included Medicare, Medicaid, State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and/or other public hospital/physician coverage. TRICARE and CHAMPVA were treated as private coverage, as were employer-based, union-based, and other private insurance.
¶ Conditions included arthritis, asthma, diabetes, emphysema, heart disease (angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack, other heart condition or disease), high cholesterol, hypertension, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or attention deficit disorder, and stroke, and excluded cancer.
** Years since last cancer treatment top-coded at ≥20 by MEPS. This question was only asked of cancer survivors who participated in MEPS Experiences with Cancer Survey in 2011 or 2016.