The goal of this study was to describe the type of health insurance problems that women with breast cancer experience and to explore if demographic, illness, and treatment variables are associated with those problems. Insurance problems were analyzed by two types of health plan; HMO and PPO. The study population included 390 women, age 50 or less, recruited from five counties using Rapid Case Ascertainment of the Cancer Tumor Registry. Cross sectional data were used from a telephone survey administered from 3-6 months and again between 12-15 months following diagnosis. Bivariate and multivariate methods were used to identify factors associated with women who had problems with their health insurance. Findings: The women in this study population were primarily white, highly educated, employed in managerial, sales, or technical occupations. Nearly 62% were covered by HMO health plans and 30% by PPO plans. We found that 18.3% of the women had problems with their health insurance after diagnosis. Those included difficulty with obtaining referrals, waiting for approval for services, gettting claims paid, and obtaining services not covered by the plan. Preliminary analysis found that the type of insurance (HMO or PPO) was associated with having insurance problems. Learning Objectives: Participants will identify the types of health insurance problems reported by women with a serious illness. Participants will be able to describe the factors that are significantly related to women experiencing problems with insurance.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Keywords: Health Care Managed Care, Women's Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.