The New England journal of medicine
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Comparative Study
The relation between health insurance coverage and clinical outcomes among women with breast cancer.
Women without private health insurance are less likely than privately insured women to be screened for breast cancer, and their treatment may differ after cancer is diagnosed. In this study we addressed two related questions: Do uninsured patients and those covered by Medicaid have more advanced breast cancer than privately insured patients when the disease is initially diagnosed? And, for each stage of disease, do uninsured patients and patients covered by Medicaid die sooner after breast cancer is diagnosed than privately insured patients? ⋯ The more frequent adverse outcomes of breast cancer among women without private health insurance suggest that such women would benefit from improved access to screening and optimal therapy.