The Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased the number of diagnoses of early-stage colorectal cancer by 8% among U.S. seniors ages 65 and older between 2011 and 2013, according to a study published in the January issue of Health Affairs.
Study authors Nengliang Yao, PhD, and doctoral candidate Brett Lissenden used information from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, which consolidates cancer data from 18 different registries (Health Affairs, January 2017, Vol. 36:1, pp. 101-107).
The researchers also found that the ACA had no noticeable effect on the number of diagnoses of early-stage breast cancer over the same time period, which they attributed to the fact that the decrease in out-of-pocket spending was greater for colorectal screening than for breast cancer screening.
Yao and Lissenden's research contrasts with a study published January 9 in Cancer, which found that the ACA increased compliance with mammography screening by eliminating out-of-pocket costs, but it did not increase colonoscopy rates among poorer patients.
