Awareness of skin cancer screening coverage in U.S. healthcare plans: Is there a need to better educate the public?

Abstract

Objectives: To understand whether financial barriers or the lack of accessibility to dermatology services was a significant motivation for the public to seek free skin cancer screening.

Methods: An anonymous and voluntary survey was administered to participants of The Sun Bus free skin cancer screening program in 2023 at U.S. outdoor events in Colorado, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Iowa, Wyoming, Missouri, and Montana. 491 respondents answered questions on motivation, healthcare coverage, and demographics. Survey data was analyzed using Qualtrics' crosstab IQ and statistical tests software.

Results: Skin screening found suspicious lesions in 45 % of 1300 participants with 18 % of respondents sharing a previous history of skin cancer. Concern for a lesion or Curiosity were the two top reasons for 60 % of respondents to seek free skin screening and remained the top reasons after data was stratified by gender, age, or income. Only 15 % of respondent were motivated by the cost of dermatology services or a long wait to see a dermatologist. A total of 38 % of people surveyed reported comprehensive plans covering skin screening while 46 % were unaware of the inclusion of screening in their healthcare plan. Notably, this unawareness increased up to 52 % among younger and less affluent respondents. Additionally, females were less likely than males to be aware of skin screening options in their healthcare plans.

Conclusions: This work highlights the significance of promoting public awareness of dermatology services covered by health insurance and the need for continued efforts in skin cancer education and screening programs.

Keywords: Actinic keratosis; Basal cell carcinoma; Gender-differences; Healthcare coverage; Melanoma; Mobile health clinics; Skin cancer; Skin cancer prevention; Skin cancer screening; Squamous cell carcinoma.

Fig. 1

Distribution of selection data (%) stratified by age, gender, and income to the question “Which of the following best describes coverage for dermatology services on your health insurance plan?” from The Sun Bus adult participant survey conducted during 33 outdoor events in eight states in the United States in 2023.