Under Affordable Care Act, Americans have had more preventive care for heart health, UCLA study finds

By reducing out-of-pocket costs for preventive treatment, the Affordable Care Act appears to have encouraged more people to have health screenings related to their cardiovascular health,a UCLA study found. Comparing figures from 2006 through 2013, researchers found that more people were screened for diabetes, high cholesterol, cigarette use and high blood pressure — all risk factors for heart disease — after the ACA was implemented than before.But the research, published in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Managed Care, also revealed a disparity between men and women in one key area. Although more men who are at risk for heart attacks and stroke take daily doses of baby aspirin, the number of women taking baby aspirin each day is unchanged since before the ACA became law. Baby aspirin is commonly prescribed to people at risk for heart attack and stroke.“There has been a lot of concern about women receiving poorer quality cardiovascular care, and our study reinforces this concern,” said Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at theDavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.UCLA HealthDr. Joseph LadapoBoth before and since the ACA was enacted, baby aspirin was listed as a medication in about 9.5 percent of office visits by women 55 to 79, even though it is recommended for most people in that age range because of the increased risk for heart attack and...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news