Most uninsured adults are behind on routine cancer screenings

Key takeaways:

• Uninsured adults are far more likely to be behind on several types of cancer screenings vs. insured adults.
• However, 70% of all survey respondents said they were behind on their routine cancer screenings.

Most aults without health insurance in the United States reported they did not have a routine medical visit or cancer screening in the past year, new survey data showed.

“Our recent findings reveal a critical and persistent gap in cancer screenings among uninsured adults,” Jody Hoyos, CEO of Prevent Cancer Foundation, said in a press release. “Routine screenings are not a luxury that should depend on employment or insurance —they are essential for preventing cancer or detecting it early, when treatment is more likely to be successful.”

A total of 7,004 adults participated in the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s 2024 Early Detection Survey, which assessed knowledge and behaviors related to routine cancer screening.

The results showed that uninsured adults were over two times more likely to not have had a routine medical visit or cancer screening in the past year vs. their insured counterparts.

Uninsured adults pointed to cost as the top reason for being behind on their routine cancer screenings, which ranked as the fifth-most common reason for being behind on screenings among insured adults.

Insured adults instead frequently listed reasons like not knowing they had to be screened (46%), not having any symptoms (34%) and not having a family history of disease (38%).

The type of cancer screening did not significantly impact the likelihood of being up to date among uninsured adults. For example:

• 71% of uninsured adults aged 45 years and older said they were behind on their colorectal cancer screening vs. 33% of insured adults of the same age;
• 63% of uninsured women aged 40 years and older said they were behind on their breast cancer screening vs. 30% of insured women of the same age;
• 67% of uninsured women said they were behind on their cervical cancer screening vs. 41% of insured women; and
• 69% of uninsured men said they are behind on their testicular cancer screening vs. 48% of insured men.

According to the Prevent Cancer Foundation, the findings reflect broader issues that occur when health care is tied to employment: 68% of full-time employees with paid time off said they had a routine medical appointment or cancer screening vs. just 43% of full-time employees without paid time off.

Being up to date on cancer screenings remains an issue among adults regardless of insurance status. Data from the survey that were previously released in April showed that 70% of all respondents are not up to date on at least one of their routine cancer screenings.

However, 73% of adults said that they were more likely to schedule their next recommended cancer screening when they learned about the importance of early detection, whereas 53% said that text, phone call or email reminders would make them more likely to schedule their appointments.

“The Foundation firmly believes that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to stay ahead of cancer through prevention and early detection, and we are committed to addressing these disparities to ensure that every individual, regardless of their financial situation, can achieve better outcomes for their health,” Hoyos said in the release.

References:

• 2024 Early Detection Survey. Available at: https://preventcancer.org/prevention-screening/resources-and-downloads/2024-early-detection-survey/. Accessed Oct. 21, 2024.
• Insurance can make or break preventing cancer or finding it early. Available at: https://preventcancer.org/news/insurance-preventing-cancer-early/. Published Oct. 2, 2024. Accessed Oct. 21, 2024.
• U.S. adults are still behind on routine cancer screenings—but reasons why vary by race. Available at: https://preventcancer.org/news/u-s-adults-are-still-behind-on-routine-cancer-screenings-but-reasons-why-vary-by-race/. Published April 1, 2024. Accessed Oct. 21, 2024.