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  • Title: Health care crisis: the head and neck cancer patient and affordable health insurance.
    Author: Hagen PC, Nuss DW, Ellis M, Lyons GD.
    Journal: Ear Nose Throat J; 1993 May; 72(5):334-7, 340. PubMed ID: 8334963.
    Abstract:
    In an evaluation of 30 patients with head and neck cancer, we found that 14 (46%) were uninsured at the time of diagnosis and 15 (50%) had yearly incomes below the poverty level. Tobacco and alcohol were identified as risk factors in 25 (83%) of the patients. These patients spent an average of $2,781 on carcinogenic agents yearly, increasing the risk of cancer 55 times that of the unexposed population, whereas the cost of a health insurance policy was $2,321 per year. To remedy the disparities and incongruities of this situation, we advocate patient education to influence behavioral change in these high-risk groups, a lowering of insurance rates, legal reform, and continued physician activism toward managing the current health care crisis.
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