Higher county medical debt tied to increased late-stage cancer diagnoses

Counties with a 10 percentage-point higher share of residents in medical debt collections had significantly higher incidence of late-stage lung, colorectal, cervical, skin, kidney, bladder, and head/neck cancer, a cross-sectional study of ~3,000 US counties found.

• Medical debt prevalence across counties ranged from 1% to 52%, averaging 21% in collections, and was higher in rural and socially vulnerable areas.
• The link was most pronounced for lung cancer, where repeated annual imaging and follow-up costs may worsen disparities.

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