Brain Tumor Patients Fare Better with Private Insurance

According to a study published in the journal Neurosugery, brain tumor patients who are uninsured or used Medicaid stay hospitalized longer and develop more medical complications compared to those with private insurance. During the study, researchers from the University of Florida Health analyzed data from 566,346 hospital admissions involving brain tumor cases between 2002 and 2011. The study found that the uninsured and Medicaid patients were also at greater risk of developing a new medical condition in the hospital and 25-percent more likely to die during their stay. Additionally, people who are uninsured or use Medicaid also are less likely to benefit from early detection of brain tumors because they have less access to health care than those with private insurance, noted the study’s lead author. “When private-insurance patients start to have a problem, it gets picked up really fast. They go to a primary doctor, who makes a quick referral to a neurologist or neurosurgeon,” he said. However, people who use Medicaid don’t always have that benefit, and sometimes wait to go to an emergency room when their symptoms become more severe. The study results also showed that once hospitalized, patients with private insurance and those on Medicaid also fared differently. The Medicaid patients were more prone to certain kinds of infections, postoperative respiratory issues and problems with blood sugar control. All of those factors contribute to longer hospital stays, a higher death rate and a greater likelihood that Medicaid recipients and the uninsured will end up in a nursing home, rehabilitation center or hospice rather than going home. This research is significant, particularly from a global standpoint, to help understand what factors go into quality assessment, how hospitals are ranked based on quality and which patients are potentially high risk. To read more about this study, click here.