Examining the role of access to care: Racial/ethnic differences in receipt of resection for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer among integrated system members and non-members

Abstract Objectives To examine the role of uniform access to care in reducing racial/ethnic disparities in receipt of resection for early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by comparing integrated health system member patients to demographically similar non-member patients. Materials and methods Using data from the California Cancer Registry, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients from four racial/ethnic groups (White, Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander), aged 21–80, with a first primary diagnosis of stage I or II NSCLC between 2004 and 2011, in counties served by Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) at diagnosis. Our cohort included 1565 KPNC member and 4221 non-member patients. To examine the relationship between race/ethnicity and receipt of surgery stratified by KPNC membership, we used modified Poisson regression to calculate risk ratios (RR) adjusted for patient demographic and tumor characteristics. Results Black patients were least likely to receive surgery regardless of access to integrated care (64–65% in both groups). The magnitude of the black-white difference in the likelihood of surgery receipt was similar for members (RR: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.73–0.93) and non-members (RR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.80–0.94). Among members, roughly equal proportions of Hispanic and White patients received surgery; however, among non-members, Hispanic patients were less likely to receive surgery (non-members, RR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86–1.00; members, RR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.89–1.08). Conclusion Disparities in surgical treatment for NSCLC were not reduced through integrated health system membership, suggesting that factors other than access to care (e.g., patient-provider communication) may underlie disparities. Future research should focus on identifying such modifiable factors.