Dr. Soudabeh Dehkordy of the University of California, San Diego will share findings from a study she and colleagues conducted to investigate whether the legislation had any effect on patient co-payments for screening mammography and whether any changes influenced women's screening compliance. The group used information taken from Optum Clinformatics Data Mart from between 2004 and 2014 to evaluate utilization and cost-sharing trends by race and income level.
Overall, the ACA increased the number of women covered for screening mammography, therefore reducing their cost-sharing burden, Dehkordy's group found. Breast cancer screening utilization rates flattened or declined after 2009 across all income and racial groups except for black women, for whom screening rates increased.
"It is important to continue monitoring screening mammography utilization as healthcare policies and guidelines change, as these changes may affect disparities in screening between different racial and income groups," the researchers concluded.
