Cancer survivors in rural areas could not afford health care

According to a new study published in journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention conducted by the American Association for Cancer Research proves that the cancer survivors from the rural areas are likely to pass the medical and the dental care. This is due to limited financial resources as compared with the older cancer survivors who are living in urban areas. Nynikka Palmer, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., the postdoctoral fellow from the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C, explains, “This is the first population-based study to examine whether cancer survivors in rural and urban areas are equally likely to forgo health care as a result of concerns about cost," said "We found a disparity among older survivors, for whom health insurance coverage through Medicare is almost universal, while no disparity was found for younger survivors after controlling for various factors. This suggests that health insurance coverage alone may not ensure equal access to health care.”