https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-11/acos-mem112020.php
News Release 23-Nov-2020
New study findings in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons show improved colon cancer care in states that implemented Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act in 2014
American College of Surgeons
The Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion for low-income people appears to lead to earlier diagnosis of colon cancer, enhanced access to care, and improved surgical care for patients with this common cancer, researchers report in a new study. The study is published as an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print.
In states that expanded Medicaid health insurance coverage in 2014, the study authors reported an increase of early-stage colon cancer diagnoses compared with states that did not implement Medicaid expansion. More surgical patients from states with Medicaid expansion had minimally invasive surgical procedures, and fewer patients underwent urgent operations than in states not implementing expansion, said lead author Richard S. Hoehn, MD, surgical oncology fellow with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) department of surgery at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.
"A paucity of studies looks at how Medicaid expansion affects cancer treatment and outcomes, as our study did," Dr. Hoehn said. "Our study also differed from others in that we analyzed data only from people who were most likely affected by Medicaid expansion: those aged 40 to 64 who had Medicaid or no health insurance."
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