The Financial Burden of Cancer: Financial Ratio Analysis

Using nine biannual waves (1998–2014) from the Health and Retirement Study, this study employed fixed-effects models to estimate the relationship between cancer and changes in financial status, measured by liquidity, solvency, and investment ratios. Results show that cancer survivors in the initial stage of cancer care increased their emergency fund equivalent to 15 days of living expenses, along with an increase in their debt to asset ratio by 0.8%, and a decrease of investment asset to net worth ratio by 0.4%. Furthermore, two additional years of post-cancer care and rehabilitation lead to an increase of five more days in emergency cash need and a decrease in investment asset to net worth ratio by 0.3%.