Objectives: With cancer survival rates in Australia improving, more people are living longer with cancer, placing large financial burdens on the healthcare system. At an individual level, First Nations Australians with cancer report high levels of unmet supportive care needs for financial worries, with cost potentially contributing to well-documented differences in access to care between First Nations and other Australians. Currently, minimal research has explored the costs, both to the healthcare system and the individual, for First Nations Australians with cancer. This presentation aims to quantify healthcare service use and associated costs relating to cancer diagnoses within First Nations Australians with cancer in Queensland.
Methods: This study used CancerCostMod, a linked administrative dataset containing all cancer diagnoses in Queensland from 1 July 2011 - 30 June 2015, linked to admitted hospital, emergency department, Medicare, and pharmaceutical claims from 1 July 2011 - 30 June 2018. Use of healthcare services and costs over 3-years post-diagnosis were quantified for First Nations Australians and compared to other Australians with cancer. Generalised linear models were used to predict differences in healthcare use and cost of different healthcare services controlling for relevant factors.
Results: Hospital admissions for First Nations Australians were, on average, more costly to public healthcare funders than those for other Australians. Identifying as First Nations Australian was a significant predictor of lower out-of-pocket expenditure, and less Medicare and pharmaceutical claims over 3 years post-diagnosis than for other Australians. Other differences in service use were also explored.
Conclusions: First Nations Australians with cancer incur larger costs, on average, to the Australian healthcare system, potentially due to complex hospital care. The lower out-of-pocket costs for First Nations Australians are driven by lower service utilisation. To reduce well-known disparities in cancer outcomes for First Nations Australians, a more equitable approach to cancer care is required.