Income, wealth, and debt among families with a history of cancer.
350 Background: Cancer survivors and their families often experience financial hardship due to high out-of-pocket medical costs and lost income from time away from work during treatment for patients and informal family caregivers. Little is known about detailed income, wealth, and debt among families with a history of cancer. Methods: The 2021 Panel Study of Income Dynamics was used to identify families with a cancer history. Family characteristics included survey response person’s age, sex, marital status, and race and ethnicity, number of dependent children living in the family, and time since cancer diagnosis. For families with multiple cancer diagnoses, time since cancer diagnosis was calculated according to the most recent cancer diagnosis. Family income was assessed by total income in tax year 2020, which consisted of combined taxable and transfer income of the response person, spouse/partner, and other family members. Wealth with and without equity (i.e., value of home minus mortgage) were assessed by sum of values of different types of assets (e.g. savings, checking, bonds, retirement accounts) net of debts (e.g., credit card debt, student loans, and medical bills). Results: A total of 701 families were identified with a cancer history. Within families, half of cancer survivors were 18-64 years and the other half were >65 years at the survey. About two thirds were married or living with partners, three fourths of response persons were male, one fifth had dependent children living in the same family, two thirds were non-Hispanic white, and two thirds of cancer survivors were diagnosed > 6 years prior to the survey. The median family income was $67,498 (inter-quartile range: $33,480 to $121,200), and the median wealth with and without equity were $188,000 and $5,5000, respectively. Moreover, 29.9% of families had credit debt (median: $4,500; inter-quartile range [IQR]: $1800-$14,000); 11.3% of families carried student loans (median: $4,500; IQR: $15,000-$60,000); and 10.7% of families had outstanding medical bills (median: $4,000; IQR: $2,000-$9,000). Conclusions: Families with a history of cancer have multiple types of debts, including medical debt, even years after diagnosis. Efforts to identify changes in wealth and income before and after cancer diagnosis are warranted. Income, wealth, and debt among families with a history of cancer. Family income Wealth without equity Wealth with equity Mean (Std) Median (IQR) Mean (Std) Median (IQR) Mean (Std) Median (IQR) $94,776(123,870) $67,498(33,480, 121,200) $459,956(1,142,647) $5,5000(4,000, 391,364) $649,912(1,307,959) $188,000(30,400, 645,000) Credit card debt (n=693) Student loans (n=698) Medical bills (n=627) n (%) Mean (Std) Median (IQR) n (%) Mean (Std) Median (IQR) n (%) Mean (Std) Median (IQR) 207(29.9%) $8,832 (10,300) $4,500(1800, 14,000) 79(11.3%) $55,948(75,256) $35,000(15,000, 60,000) 67(10.7%) $13,309(32,525) $4000(2,000, 9,000)
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