Breast Cancer Care in California and Ontario: Primary Care Protections Greatest Among the Most Socioeconomically Vulnerable Women Living in the Most Underserved Places. (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gorey, Kevin M.; Hamm, Caroline; Luginaah, Isaac N.; Zou, Guangyong; Holowaty, Eric J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of primary care & community health. Volume 8:Number 3(2017:Jul.)
• Page Start: 127
• Page End: 134
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: primary care -- supply of physicians -- poverty -- health insurance -- breast cancer -- health care policy -- health care reform -- Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Primary health care -- Periodicals; Primary health care -- United States -- Periodicals; Community health services -- Periodicals; Community health services -- United States -- Periodicals; 362.12
• DOI: 10.1177/2150131916686284
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2150-1319

Abstract

Background: Better health care among Canada's socioeconomically vulnerable versus America's has not been fully explained. We examined the effects of poverty, health insurance and the supply of primary care physicians on breast cancer care.Methods: We analyzed breast cancer data in Ontario (n = 950) and California (n = 6300) between 1996 and 2000 and followed until 2014. We obtained socioeconomic data from censuses, oversampling the poor. We obtained data on the supply of physicians, primary care and specialists. The optimal care criterion was being diagnosed early with node negative disease and received breast conserving surgery followed by adjuvant radiation therapy.Results: Women in Ontario received more optimal care in communities well supplied by primary care physicians. They were particularly advantaged in the most disadvantaged places: high poverty neighborhoods (rate ratio = 1.65) and communities lacking specialist physicians (rate ratio = 1.33). Canadian advantages were explained by better health insurance coverage and greater primary care access.Conclusions: Policy makers ought to ensure that the newly insured are adequately insured. The Medicaid program should be expanded, as intended, across all 50 states. Strengthening America's system of primary care will probably be the best way to ensure that the Affordable Care Act's full benefits are realized.