Cancer survival rate for medical benefit recipients is 20% lower than for health insurance subscribers.
The cancer survival rate of medical benefit recipients was found to be about 20% lower than that of health insurance subscribers. This means that the lower the income level, the lower the cancer patient survival rate.
According to data submitted by the National Cancer Center on the 23rd by Rep. So Byeong-hoon of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gwangju City, Gyeonggi Province), a member of the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly, the five-year observational survival rate of medical benefit recipients in all cancer types was lower than that of health insurance subscribers.
The National Cancer Center studied the 5-year observational survival rate of cancer patients by linking the central cancer registration data and the National Health Insurance Service insurance premium (income level) data. In all cancer types, the lower the income level, the lower the 5-year observational survival rate of cancer patients. confirmed the fact.
In fact, the National Assembly’s office revealed that medical benefit recipients had a lower survival rate of 22.7% for stomach cancer, 20.4% for colon cancer, 27.2% for liver cancer, 13.5% for breast cancer, and 16.6% for cervical cancer compared to health insurance subscribers.
Looking at the survival rates after cancer screening of medical benefit recipients and health insurance subscribers in detail by cancer type, stomach cancer is 52.5% vs. 67.9%, colon cancer is 53.1% vs. 66.7%, liver cancer is 23.5% vs. 32.3%, breast cancer is 73% vs. 84.4%, and cervical cancer is 52.5% vs. 67.9%. It was 63.7% vs. 76.4%. The gap in survival rates after cancer screening between medical benefit recipients and health insurance subscribers is 15.4%p for stomach cancer, 13.6%p for colon cancer, 8.8%p for liver cancer, 11.4%p for breast cancer, and 12.7%p for cervical cancer.
The gap between medical benefit recipients and those with high income (5th percentile) among health insurance subscribers has widened further. Stomach cancer is at 27.6% (20%p), colon cancer at 24.1% (16.9%p), liver cancer at 38.3% (14.6%p), breast cancer at 16% (13.9%p), and cervical cancer at 18.6% (14.6%p). The survival rate was high.
Rep. So Byeong-hoon said, “The difference in cancer patient survival rates according to income level may have been influenced by the low cancer screening rate of medical benefit recipients,” and added, “We will not only make efforts to increase the screening rate of medical benefit recipients, but also provide health insurance subscribers and medical benefit recipients.” “We must also establish statistics on survival and mortality rates of beneficiaries and use them as policy data to reduce cancer mortality rates,” he said.
Previously, Rep. So recently revealed that the cancer screening rate for low-income medical benefit recipients is more than two times lower than the cancer screening rate for health insurance subscribers. As of 2023, the gap in cancer screening rates between health insurance subscribers and medical benefit recipients was 28.2%p for stomach cancer, 22.4%p for colon cancer, 28.1%p for liver cancer, 18.5%p for breast cancer, 29.3%p for cervical cancer, and 16.4%p for lung cancer.
Rep. So added, “It has been confirmed that none of the government or public institutions, including the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Health Insurance Corporation, and the National Statistical Office, have established cancer mortality statistics on medical benefit recipients.”
Reporter Jaeyoung Jeong sisleyj@segye.com
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