Are Comorbidities Associated with Differences in Healthcare Charges among Lung Cancer Patients in US Hospitals - Clinical aspects and socioeconomic/comorbidity variances

Sep 21, 2026

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Objective and aim: Examine whether comorbidities relate to differences in healthcare charges for lung cancer patients in US hospitals, with emphasis on socioeconomic factors. Methods: Analyze patient characteristics and the association between comorbidity status (diabetes, hypertension, or both) and healthcare charge using multivariate survey linear regression. Results: Among 212,745 patients, 68.5% had diabetes and/or hypertension, and comorbidities were linked to higher hospital charges across subgroups. Discussion focuses on potential financial burden and healthcare access inequities for uninsured, low-income, and minority populations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Objective

Aim

Methods

Results

Discussion

Introduction

Lung cancer burden and outcomes

Comorbidities and hospitalization impacts

Prior literature and research gap

Article Are comorbidities associated with differences in healthcare charges among lung cancer patients in US hospitals? Focusing on variances by patient and socioeconomic factors Jeong-Hui Park 1,†, Sun Jung Kim2,3,4,†, Mar Medina5, Tyler Prochnow4, Kisuk Min6 and Jongwha Chang7 Chronic Illness 2024, Vol. 20(3) 434–444 © The Author(s) 2024 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/17423953241241759](DOI: 10.1177/17423953241241759)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/17423953241241759)[journals.sagepub.com/home/chi](journals.sagepub.com/home/chi) Abstract Objective: The clinical aspects of lung cancer patients are well-studied. However, healthcare charge patterns have yet to be explored through a large-scale representative population-based sample investigating differences by socioeconomic factors and comorbidities. Aim: To identify how comorbidities associated with healthcare charges among lung cancer patients Methods: We examined the characteristics of the patient sample and the association between comorbidity status (diabetes, hypertension, or both) and healthcare charge. Multivariate survey linear regression models were used to estimate the association. We also investigated sub-group association through various patient and socioeconomic factors. Results: Of 212,745 lung cancer patients, 68.5% had diabetes and/or hypertension. Hospital charges were higher in the population with comorbidities. The results showed that lung cancer 1 Department of Health Behavior, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA 2Department of Health Administration and Management, College of Medical Science, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea 3Center for Healthcare Management Science, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea 4Department of Software Convergence, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea 5Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA 6Department of Kinesiology, College of Health Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA 7Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA †Equal contribution Corresponding author: Jongwha Chang, Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. Email: [jc2345@tamu.edu](jc2345@tamu.edu) patients with comorbidities had 9.4%, 5.1%, and 12.0%(with diabetes, hypertension, and both, respectively) higher hospital charges than those without comorbidities. In sub-group analysis, Black patients also showed a similar trend across socioeconomic (i.e. household income and primary payer) and racial (i.e. White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Paciﬁc Islander) factors. Discussion: Black patients may be signiﬁcantly ﬁnancially burdened because of the prevalence ofcomorbidities and low-income status. More work is required to ensure healthcare equality and promote access to care for the uninsured, low-income, and minority populations because comorbidities common in these populations can create more signiﬁcant ﬁnancial barriers. Keywords Lung cancer, NIS sample, healthcare charges, racial disparity, regional variance Received 9 June 2023; accepted 22 January 2024 Introduction In 2022, there were 130,180 lung and bronchus cancer deaths in the US and 236,740 new cases.1 Although cases and deaths have been slowly declining, 1 lung cancer remains one of the most common cancers in the US and is responsible for the most cancer deaths in 2022.2 Non-Hispanic Black patients have the second highest new cancer rates, surpassed only by non-Hispanic white patients, but have the highest cancer death rate.3 Though treatment advancements have promoted decreased mortality rates,4 most lung cancer cases have already metastasized, and

FAQs

What objective does the study pursue regarding lung cancer patients and healthcare charges?

The study aims to identify how comorbidities are associated with healthcare charges among lung cancer patients, considering socioeconomic factors and comorbidity status.

Which comorbidities are analyzed in relation to hospital charges?

The analysis compares comorbidity status across diabetes, hypertension, or both.

What key findings link comorbidities to healthcare charges?

Hospital charges are higher among patients with comorbidities, and subgroup analysis shows a similar trend for Black patients across socioeconomic and racial factors.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Eden