CHICAGO, May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Prevalence of melanoma diagnoses increased 7 percent over a four-year span, according to information released by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA)'s Health of America Report.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, people who first use a tanning bed before age 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent. "Skin exposure to ultraviolet light is as likely to cause cancer as smoking cigarettes," said Dr. Trent Haywood, senior vice president and chief medical officer for BCBSA. "Americans should enjoy the sun, but also use the proper precautions to avoid too much exposure to ultraviolet light. Tanning beds should be avoided altogether in light of research documenting the strong correlation to skin cancer."
Findings show that the rate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) members living with melanoma more than double when men reach ages 55 through 64 and surpass rates for women in that age range. Women 54 years and younger have higher prevalence of diagnosed melanoma than men. Non-melanoma skin cancer diagnoses are more prevalent in women at 4.6 percent compared to men at 3.5 percent, but the average cost of treating women is $468 compared to $678 for men.
In 2013, 237,000 commercially insured BCBS members within a sample of 41 million people were identified as having diagnosed melanoma, compared to 257,000 in 2016. Despite the increase, melanoma made up just 2.8 percent of all skin cancer diagnoses.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States: Nearly 9,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with it every single day, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Skin cancer affected 4.3 percent of BCBS members. By taking the skin cancer diagnosis rate found in the study and extrapolating it to 216 million privately insured people counted by the U.S. Census Bureau, BCBSA estimates that nine million privately insured people in the U.S. are living with a skin cancer diagnosis.
BCBSA also published a list ranking states and metropolitan areas by skin cancer prevalence (including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma and other uncommon skin cancers) and found:
States with the highest diagnosed skin cancer prevalence rates include:
The Blue Cross Blue Shield: The Health of America Report® is a collaboration between BCBSA and Blue Health Intelligence, which uses a market-leading claims database to uncover key trends and insights into health care affordability and access to care.
For more information, visit www.bcbs.com/healthofamerica.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield AssociationThe Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Indexsm. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit BCBS.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog.
About BHIBlue Health Intelligence (BHI) is the nation's premier resource for data-driven insights about healthcare trends and best practices, promoting healthier lives and more affordable access to safe and effective care. BHI leverages a team of analytics experts and advanced technology, coupled with access to the greatest number of healthcare claims—172 million lives—gathered over 10 years in a safe, HIPAA-compliant, secure database. The resulting conformed, reliable data set has the broadest, deepest pool of integrated medical and pharmacy claims, reflecting medical utilization in every ZIP code. Blue Health Intelligence (BHI) is an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. BHI is a trade name of Health Intelligence Company, LLC. www.bluehealthintelligence.com.
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According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, people who first use a tanning bed before age 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent. "Skin exposure to ultraviolet light is as likely to cause cancer as smoking cigarettes," said Dr. Trent Haywood, senior vice president and chief medical officer for BCBSA. "Americans should enjoy the sun, but also use the proper precautions to avoid too much exposure to ultraviolet light. Tanning beds should be avoided altogether in light of research documenting the strong correlation to skin cancer."
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Findings show that the rate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) members living with melanoma more than double when men reach ages 55 through 64 and surpass rates for women in that age range. Women 54 years and younger have higher prevalence of diagnosed melanoma than men. Non-melanoma skin cancer diagnoses are more prevalent in women at 4.6 percent compared to men at 3.5 percent, but the average cost of treating women is $468 compared to $678 for men.
In 2013, 237,000 commercially insured BCBS members within a sample of 41 million people were identified as having diagnosed melanoma, compared to 257,000 in 2016. Despite the increase, melanoma made up just 2.8 percent of all skin cancer diagnoses.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States: Nearly 9,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with it every single day, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Skin cancer affected 4.3 percent of BCBS members. By taking the skin cancer diagnosis rate found in the study and extrapolating it to 216 million privately insured people counted by the U.S. Census Bureau, BCBSA estimates that nine million privately insured people in the U.S. are living with a skin cancer diagnosis.
BCBSA also published a list ranking states and metropolitan areas by skin cancer prevalence (including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma and other uncommon skin cancers) and found:
States with the highest diagnosed skin cancer prevalence rates include:
- Florida (7.1 percent)
- Washington, D.C. (5.8 percent)
- Connecticut (5.6 percent)
- Maryland (5.3 percent)
- Rhode Island (5.3 percent)
- Vermont (5.3 percent)
- Hawaii (1.8 percent)
- Oklahoma (2.6 percent)
- Mississippi (2.7 percent)
- North Dakota (2.8 percent)
- Wisconsin (2.9 percent)
- Sarasota-Bradenton, FL (10.0 percent)
- Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie, FL (9.5 percent)
- West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL (9.5 percent)
- Barnstable-Yarmouth, MA ( 8.6 percent)
- Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL (8.6 percent)
- Laredo, TX (1.1 percent)
- Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX (1.4 percent)
- El Paso, TX (1.4 percent)
- Mcallen-Edinburg-Mission, TX (1.4 percent)
- Honolulu, HI (1.5 percent)
The Blue Cross Blue Shield: The Health of America Report® is a collaboration between BCBSA and Blue Health Intelligence, which uses a market-leading claims database to uncover key trends and insights into health care affordability and access to care.
For more information, visit www.bcbs.com/healthofamerica.
About Blue Cross Blue Shield AssociationThe Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Indexsm. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit BCBS.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog.
About BHIBlue Health Intelligence (BHI) is the nation's premier resource for data-driven insights about healthcare trends and best practices, promoting healthier lives and more affordable access to safe and effective care. BHI leverages a team of analytics experts and advanced technology, coupled with access to the greatest number of healthcare claims—172 million lives—gathered over 10 years in a safe, HIPAA-compliant, secure database. The resulting conformed, reliable data set has the broadest, deepest pool of integrated medical and pharmacy claims, reflecting medical utilization in every ZIP code. Blue Health Intelligence (BHI) is an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. BHI is a trade name of Health Intelligence Company, LLC. www.bluehealthintelligence.com.
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SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
