Monday, November 30, 2015

The Impact Of Obamacare On Cancer Outcomes Is Becoming Clearer

BY TARA CULP-RESSLER NOV 25, 2015 8:33AM

More young women are getting screened and diagnosed with early-stage cervical cancer, potentially because Obamacare allows them to access insurance benefits through their parents’ plans, according to a new study from American Cancer Society researchers.

The researchers examined a large database that tracks cancer cases in the United States. They compared the cancer diagnoses among women between the ages of 21 to 25 to the diagnoses among women between the ages of 26 to 34 — both before and after the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansion took effect.

An Obamacare provision that allows young adults to remain insured through their parents’ plans until the age of 26 appears to have affected the rates of cervical cancer diagnosis among that demographic. After the ACA, the diagnosis rates significantly rose for the women in their early twenties and remained fairly constant for older women.

“It’s a very remarkable finding, actually,” researcher Dr. Ahmedin Jemal told the New York Times. “You see the effect of the ACA on the cancer outcomes.”

Read more
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/11/25/3725716/cervical-cancer-obamacare/

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