Impact of universal health coverage on childhood cancer outcomes in Indonesia

Background Starting from 2014, the Indonesian government has implemented Universal Health Coverage (UHC) with the aim to make healthcare services accessible and affordable to all Indonesian citizens. A major reason for childhood cancer treatment failure in low‐ and middle‐income countries, particularly among families with low socioeconomic status (SES), is abandonment of expensive cancer treatment. Our study compared childhood cancer treatment outcomes of the overall, low, and high SES population before and after introduction of UHC at a large Indonesian academic hospital. Methods Medical records of 1040 patients diagnosed with childhood cancer before (2011‐2013, n = 506) and after (2014‐2016, n = 534) introduction of UHC were ed retrospectively. Data on treatment outcome, SES, and health‐insurance status at diagnosis were obtained. Findings After introduction of UHC, the number of insured patients increased from 38% to 82% (P