Cancer Patient Study: Disparity Between Medicare and Private

(ChattahBox)—A provocative study was released by researchers from the Fox Chase Cancer Center this week, raising the alarm about disparities in medical treatment offered to patients with Medicare as their primary payer, compared to those with private insurance. Dr. Robert G. Uzzo, surgery chairman with Chase, discovered that patients with kidney cancer were more likely to have the entire kidney surgically removed, a less expensive operation than that of partial nephrectomy, which just removes the cancerous portion, preserving organ function.