OBJECTIVES: With advanced treatment options and rising treatment costs, healthcare expenditures for breast cancer (BC) have increased significantly. However, there is limited national-level data on the healthcare burden for BC patients. Hence, this study examined healthcare expenditures for adults with BC using a nationally representative sample.

METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study used the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) from 2011-15. The analyses included adults aged (≥18 years) diagnosed with BC based on the ICD-9 code 174 or clinical classification code (CCC) 024. All-other cancer patients were identified using clinical classification coding systems 11 to 45. The descriptive weighted analysis was used to examine the healthcare expenditures (2022 inflation-adjusted dollars) of patients with BC and other cancers. A two-part model (TPM) was used to analyze the marginal total healthcare expenditures for BC patients compared to other cancers.

RESULTS: According to the MEPS, there were 2.60 (95% CI=2.27-2.92) million adults with BC. Most of the BC patients were ≥65 years old (50.69%), white (53.01%), and had private insurance (72.28%). The annual healthcare expenditures for BC were [$16,483 (95% CI=$14,356-$18,608)] as compared to other cancers [$16,182 (95% CI=$15,128-$17,236)]. Total expenditures for BC were driven by inpatient hospitalization (14.92%) [$2,459 (95% CI=$1,722-$3,196)], prescription medicines (17.56%) [$2,894 (95% CI=$2,523-$3,265)], and outpatient visits (12.34%) [$2,034 (95% CI=$1,480-$2,587)]. The two-part model revealed no statistically significant difference in annual healthcare expenditures for BC and other cancers [$-1648 (95% CI=$-3,954-$656)].

CONCLUSIONS: This study found that both BC and other cancer patients have similarly high total healthcare expenditures. This study highlights the need for a comprehensive evaluation of expenditures to minimize the costs of cancer care.