Patients in Medicaid expansion states had more timely treatment, a study from the Houston-based University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found.
The study, published April 11 in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, analyzed data from adults ages 40 to 64 with resected stage 1 or 2 non-small cell lung cancer between 2010 and 2016. Researchers compared 19,870 patients in Medicaid expansion states to 23,281 patients in non-expansion states before and after implementation in 2014.
Patients in Medicaid expansion states had more timely treatment, receiving surgery within 90 days of diagnosis and resection at high-volume hospitals.
However, Medicaid expansion was not associated with resection within 30 days of diagnosis.
