Cardiovascular Screenings Increase After the ACA, Study in The American Journal of Managed Care® Finds

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Cardiovascular Week -- More physicians screened patients for diabetes and hypertension and especially for tobacco use in the years after 2010, when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) required that payers cover preventive screenings without out-of-pocket costs to patients, according to a new study in the current issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® (see also Cardiovascular Research).

Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD, and Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc, examined the impact of the ACA policy change on physicians' approach to preventive care by evaluating two sets of national health statistics over a period from 2006 to 2013. They found that the ACA's policy of eliminating cost sharing for preventive services did change physician behavior.

"Our study supports the argument that the ACA's cost-sharing provisions are an effective way to increase uptake of clinical preventive services, although overall levels of service provision were still lower than those recommended," they wrote.

Under the ACA, certain screenings must be covered at no cost to the insured consumer under criteria established by the US Preventive Services Task Force; services that receive ratings of "A" or "B" should be covered. Criteria can include a person's age or certain clinical indicators. The authors measured differences in screening rates between patients who met the criteria for having tests without a copayment and those who might have had them but were not insured, or were just shy of the age threshold.

Keywords for this news article include: Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research, The American Journal of Managed Care®.

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