Association Between Delayed/Forgone Medical Care and Resource Utilization Among Women with Breast Cancer in the United States

Although high treatment costs of breast cancer care are well documented, the relationship between delayed/forgone (D/F) care and resource utilization among patients with breast cancer is unknown. This study sought to investigate the relationship between D/F care, resource use, and healthcare expenditures among patients with breast cancer.

Data on adult female patients with breast cancer were obtained from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to assess resource utilization and expenditures in the United States from 2007 to 2017. Weighted proportions of patients with ≥ 1 emergency department, ≥ 1 inpatient, ≥ 1 outpatient, and > 5 office-based encounters were compared between those experiencing D/F care versus those who did not using Rao-Scott adjusted chi-squared tests. Annual, per capita total, out-of-pocket, emergency department, inpatient, outpatient, office-based visit, and prescription medication expenditures were compared by using two-part econometric models.

Five percent of patients with breast cancer experienced D/F care, and 42.9% of patients cited financial barriers as the primary reason for D/F care. In unweighted estimates, there were higher proportions of patients with ≥ 1 hospitalizations (37% vs. 16%, P < 0.001) among those experiencing D/F care versus those who did not. Patients with D/F care had $5372 (95% CI $35–$10,709, P = 0.04) higher per capita inpatient expenditures than patients without D/F care.

Delayed/forgone care is associated with increased resource utilization and healthcare spending among breast cancer patients. Further work is needed to address the root causes of D/F breast cancer care, with a view to mitigating disparate outcomes and increasing costs.