The following is a summary of “Medicaid expansion and surgery for HPB/GI cancers: NCDB difference-in-difference analysis,” published in the FEBRUARY 2023 issue of Surgery by Kaelberer, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to investigate whether Medicaid expansion led to improved access to surgical resection for hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. 

The study was a quasi-experimental, cohort study using difference-in-difference analysis to compare differences in surgical resection for HPB/GI cancers in the post-Medicaid expansion era (2015-2017) with the pre-Medicaid expansion era (2011-2013) among patients aged 40-64 years residing in states that had Medicaid expansion versus those that did not. 

The study included a total of 49,954 patients, out of which 43.2% resided in expansion states (n = 21,577) and had liver cancer (n = 19,384; 38.8%), pancreatic cancer (n = 14,351; 28.7%), colorectal liver metastasis (n = 7566; 15.1%), or gastric cancer (n = 8653; 17.3%). The study findings showed no significant differences in the overall surgical resection rates between expansion and non-expansion states before and after Medicaid expansion. 

The study concluded that Medicaid expansion did not impact surgical resection for HPB/GI cancers. These findings were important for policymakers and healthcare providers to improve access to care for patients with HPB/GI cancers, especially those covered by Medicaid. Further research was needed to explore other factors that may influence access to surgical resection for these types of cancers.

Reference: americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/S0002-9610(22)00550-5/fulltext