Comorbidity is associated with higher risk of financial burden in Medicare beneficiaries with cancer but not heart disease or diabetes

The aim of the study was to examine how multimorbidity influences the prevalence of financial burden among older adults with heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. The study was a cross-sectional analysis of prospective observational cohort survey study. Older adults (age 65 or older) who did not report 1/6 major chronic illnesses (n = 2773; reference group), reported 1/3 major chronic illnesses without comorbidity (heart disease n = 206; diabetes n = 460; cancer n = 417), and reported 1/3 major chronic illnesses with comorbidity (heart disease n = 232; diabetes n = 202; cancer n = 109). The measures were presence of chronic diseases (heart disease, diabetes, cancer), comorbid chronic diseases (stroke, lung disease, dementia), medical-related financial burden (credit card debt due to medical costs, paying medical bills over time), and overall financial burden (financial help from family, credit card debt, help with food, utilities, and other necessities). The proportion reporting financial burden ranged from 15% to 27% across samples. Heart disease was unrelated to medical or overall financial burden, regardless of comorbidity. Diabetes was unrelated to financial burden except diabetes without comorbidity was associated with lower odds of overall financial burden compared to healthy older adults (odds ratio [OR] = 0.655, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.468–0.917). Cancer with comorbidity, but not cancer without comorbidity, was associated with greater odds of medical related (OR = 1.678, 95% CI: 1.057–2.664) and overall financial burden (OR = 1.748, 95% CI: 1.064–2.872). The association of multimorbidity with financial burden likely varies based on specific diseases. Future research on financial burden should focus on specific disease combinations such as cancer with comorbidity.