Medicaid expansion linked to lower mortality rates for three major types of cancer

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/dci-mel110420.php

 

News Release 5-Nov-2020
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute 

In states that have expanded Medicaid availability as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), mortality rates for three major forms of cancer are significantly lower than in states that have not expanded their Medicaid, a new study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard University shows.

Data from the study, published online today in JAMA Network Open, suggest that the improvement in mortality results from cancers being diagnosed at an earlier stage in states with Medicaid expansion. Early detection of cancer is often critical to successful treatment of the disease.

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