Diagnoses of breast cancer in its early stage increased in minority Pennsylvania women aged 50 to 64 after implementation of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). There was no similar increase in women aged 68 to 74, perhaps because they already enrolled in Medicare.
“The Affordable Care Act expanded access to affordable insurance coverage, making it possible for more women to undergo regular breast cancer screening. This study demonstrates the benefits that this can have for early breast cancer diagnosis and the ability to begin to mitigate some of the racial disparities in early detection,” said Susan G. Kornstein, MD, executive director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health.
- See “Uptick in Early-Stage Breast Cancer Diagnoses Seen Among Minority Women Following ACA Implementation” by Maggie L. Shaw on the American Journal of Managed Care website (December 14, 2020)
- See the abstract of the scientific paper “Changes in Disparities in Stage of Breast Cancer Diagnosis in Pennsylvania After the Affordable Care Act” by Neal G Spada et al.
