Table 3.
Adjusted weighted percentages of medical financial hardship intensity by age group, MEPS 2016
| 18–64 years (N=401) | 65+ years (N=562) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No hardship | One domain of hardship | Multiple domains of hardship | P | No hardship | One domain of hardship | Multiple domains of hardship | P | |
| Age group | <0.001 | 0.05 | ||||||
| 18–54 | 41.1 | 21.0 | 37.9 | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 55–64 | 51.6 | 29.6 | 18.9 | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 65–74 | -- | -- | -- | 52.3 | 32.3 | 15.4 | ||
| ≥ 75* | -- | -- | -- | 62.9 | 26.5 | 10.5 | ||
| Sex | 0.03 | 0.49 | ||||||
| Male | 37.0 | 26.5 | 36.5 | 60.8 | 27.8 | 11.4 | ||
| Female | 50.8 | 24.1 | 25.1 | 55.6 | 30.6 | 13.8 | ||
| Race / ethnicity | 0.06 | <0.001 | ||||||
| Non-Hispanic white only | 49.0 | 25.0 | 25.9 | 61.0 | 28.0 | 10.9 | ||
| Other race/ethnicities# | 36.6 | 27.0 | 36.5 | 41.9 | 37.0 | 21.1 | ||
| Current marital status | 0.56 | 0.98 | ||||||
| Married | 44.4 | 25.2 | 30.4 | 58.4 | 29.1 | 12.5 | ||
| Not married† | 50.3 | 23.9 | 25.7 | 57.4 | 29.6 | 13.0 | ||
| Education | 0.003 | <0.001 | ||||||
| Less than high school graduate | 30.5 | 30.4 | 39.1 | 61.5 | 27.3 | 11.2 | ||
| High school graduate | 47.9 | 17.3 | 34.8 | 55.0 | 30.8 | 14.1 | ||
| Some college or more | 48.2 | 28.2 | 23.6 | 58.6 | 28.9 | 12.5 | ||
| Current family income as percent of poverty line | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||
| Low-income ≤138% | 39.9 | 27.0 | 33.0 | 52.6 | 28.6 | 18.8 | ||
| Middle-income 139–400% | 39.5 | 27.1 | 33.4 | 55.6 | 27.5 | 16.9 | ||
| High-income >400% | 52.9 | 24.3 | 22.9 | 62.2 | 31.8 | 6.0 | ||
| Employment changes ‡ | <0.001 | -- | ||||||
| Employed at or after diagnosis without extended change due to cancer | 48.2 | 25.2 | 26.6 | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Employed at or after diagnosis and took extended change due to cancer | 39.5 | 26.7 | 33.8 | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Not employed at or after diagnosis/missing | 47.0 | 25.5 | 27.6 | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Current health insurance for age <65§ | <0.001 | -- | ||||||
| Age <65, any private | 54.1 | 23.7 | 22.2 | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Age <65, public only | 36.4 | 27.2 | 36.4 | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Age <65, uninsured | 46.7 | 25.7 | 27.6 | -- | -- | -- | ||
| Current health insurance for age 65+§ | -- | <0.001 | ||||||
| Age 65+*, Medicare and private | -- | -- | -- | 56.6 | 30.9 | 12.5 | ||
| Age 65+*, Medicare and other public | -- | -- | -- | 77.0 | 12.3 | 10.7 | ||
| Age 65+*, Medicare only | -- | -- | -- | 52.8 | 33.0 | 14.3 | ||
| Number of known MEPS priority conditions (excluding cancer) †† | 0.26 | 0.006 | ||||||
| 0–1 | 51.1 | 24.1 | 24.8 | 70.4 | 22.0 | 7.6 | ||
| 2–8 | 42.0 | 26.1 | 32.0 | 55.5 | 30.8 | 13.7 | ||
| Years since last cancer treatment | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||||
| <1 | 42.1 | 26.1 | 31.8 | 47.6 | 34.6 | 17.8 | ||
| 1 to <5 | 47.1 | 25.1 | 27.7 | 50.2 | 33.5 | 16.3 | ||
| ≥5 ¶ | 50.1 | 24.4 | 25.5 | 61.2 | 27.7 | 11.1 | ||
| Never treated / missing | 42.5 | 26.0 | 31.5 | 73.0 | 20.3 | 6.7 | ||
Abbreviations: MEPS, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
Note: Three domains of financial hardship included material, psychological, and behavioral domains. Multivariable ordinal logistic models adjusted for age group, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, family income, employment change due to cancer (only for 18–64 years), health insurance, number of conditions, year since last cancer treatment. Bold font indicated statistically significant at alpha=0.05.
Age top-coded ≥ 85 by the MEPS.
Other race/ethnicities include Hispanic, non-Hispanic black, Asian, other race or multiple races.
Not married includes widowed, divorced, separated, or never married.
Employment change due to cancer was not considered for cancer survivors aged 65+ years because the majority was not employed.
Public insurance includes Medicare, Medicaid, State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and/or other public hospital/physician coverage. TRICARE/CHAMPVA was treated as private coverage, as were employer-based, union-based, and other private insurance.
Conditions include arthritis, asthma, diabetes, emphysema, heart disease (angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack, other heart condition/disease), high cholesterol, hypertension, and stroke.
Years since last cancer treatment top-coded at ≥20 by the MEPS.