Abstract SS1-08: Did Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act narrow the gap between American Indians and Whites on breast cancer management and prognosis?

Patients presenting with localized breast cancer have a five-year survival of 99 per cent, whereas survival falls to 27 per cent in advanced disease. This obviates the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. Our study evaluates the impact of Ohio's Medicaid expansion and the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the stage at which Ohioans were diagnosed with breast cancer. Data were collected for 3056 patients presenting with breast cancer between 2006 and 2016 in the Dayton area. Patients were divided into groups based on cancer stage. The percentage of patients presenting with advanced disease (stage 3 or 4) was compared both before and after ACA implementation and Ohio Medicaid expansion. These results were also compared with statewide data maintained by the Ohio Department of Health. Compared with pre-ACA, the number of uninsured patients post-ACA was noted to fall 83 per cent, the number of patients presenting with Medicaid increased by five times, and the proportion of patients younger than 65 years presenting with breast cancer increased by approximately 7 per cent. These changes notwithstanding, no difference was identified in the percentage of patients presenting with advanced breast cancer before and after ACA implementation or Ohio Medicaid expansion ( P = 0.56). Statewide data similarly demonstrated no change ( P = 0.88). Improved insurance access had a smaller-than-anticipated impact on the stage at which Ohioans presented with breast cancer. As significant morbidity and mortality can be avoided by earlier presentation, additional research is appropriate to identify factors affecting patients’ decision to seek breast cancer screening and care.

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Trends in Insurance Status Among Patients Diagnosed With Cancer Before and After Implementation of the Affordable Care Act

Journal of Oncology Practice ◽

10.1200/jop.2017.027102 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. e92-e102 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Haley A. Moss ◽

Laura J. Havrilesky ◽

S. Yousuf Zafar ◽

Gita Suneja ◽

Junzo Chino

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Affordable Care Act ◽

Insurance Coverage ◽

Insurance Status ◽

Medicaid Expansion ◽

Before And After ◽

Medicaid Eligibility ◽

The Affordable Care Act ◽

Insurance Rates ◽

The Impact

Purpose: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) aimed to increase insurance coverage through key provisions such as expansion of Medicaid eligibility and enforcement of an individual mandate. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of the ACA on insurance rates among patients newly diagnosed with colon, lung, or breast cancer. Methods: Using the SEER database, patients younger than age 65 years diagnosed with colon, lung, or breast cancer between 2008 and 2014 were identified. Insurance rates were examined before versus after passage of the ACA (2011) and before (2011 to 2013) versus after (2014) Medicaid expansion in nine expansion states and five nonexpansion states. Difference-in-differences models were used to estimate the differential impact of ACA in expansion compared with nonexpansion states. Results: A total of 414,085 patients with known insurance status were diagnosed with colon, lung, or breast cancer between 2008 and 2014. For all cancer types, there was a significant increase in patients enrolled in Medicaid after 2011 in expansion states. Between 2011 to 2013 and 2014, in patients living in states with Medicaid expansion, the uninsured rates decreased by ≥ 50% among patients with a new diagnosis of lung and colon cancer (6.5% in 2011 to 2013 to 3.1% in 2014 and 6.8% in 2011 to 2013 to 3.4% in 2014, respectively; P < .001); the uninsured rate decreased to a lesser degree for patients with breast cancer (2.7% in 2011 to 2013 to 1.6% in 2014; P < .001). This decrease in the rate of uninsured patients was absent in patients living in nonexpansion states. Conclusion: The ACA resulted in expanded insurance coverage for patients diagnosed with colon, lung, and breast cancer. However, the impact was only observed in states that increased their Medicaid eligibility.

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