Medicaid expansion improves breast cancer screening for low-income women

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/rson-mei112315.php

Public Release: 30-Nov-2015
Medicaid expansion improves breast cancer screening for low-income women
Radiological Society of North America

Low-income women in Medicaid expansion states in the U.S. are more likely to have a breast screening performed than those in non-expansion states, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

As part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), states had the option of expanding Medicaid to provide coverage to people under 65 years of age living at up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington, as well as Washington, D.C., were among the first to adopt and implement the expansion by 2011.

"While increased use of screening mammography has significantly contributed to improved detection of breast cancer, substantial disparities in breast cancer screening exist among populations in the country," said the study's lead author, Soudabeh Fazeli Dehkordy, M.D., M.P.H., from St. John Providence Hospital in Southfield, Mich. "We sought to determine whether increasing access to health insurance through Medicaid expansion has resulted in improved breast cancer screening adherence."

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