title: Does Medicare coverage of colonoscopy reduce racial/ethnic disparities in cancer screening among the elderly?
abstract: Racial and ethnic disparities in colorectal cancer screening have been documented extensively in the literature. In July 2001 Medicare began covering colonoscopy for average-risk beneficiaries. We examined the effect of Medicare reimbursement on the rate and disparity of colorectal cancer screening among the elderly in the United States. This policy alleviated the screening disparity between non-Hispanic whites and blacks, but the gap between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites has widened. Overall, fewer than half of the elderly are screened, even though Medicare now covers colonoscopy.
authors.affiliation: Section ofHealth Services Research, Department of Biostatistics and Applied Mathematics, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, USA. yashih@mdanderson.org
authors.forename: Ya-Chen Tina
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Lirong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Linda S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Elting
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000191:economics*; D004522:Educational Status; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000191:economics*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D006278:Medicare; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States