By Susan Scutti,
Obamacare eliminated the costs and out-of-pocket expenses for Americans wanting preventive health care services -- including mammography and colonoscopy, both tests able to detect cancer.
Among older Americans, use of mammography increased under Obamacare, according to a study published Monday in the journal Cancer. But another preventive screen test, colonoscopy, didn't see a similar increase.
Offered a free mammogram, more women of all income and education levels accessed the test, according to Dr. Gregory Cooper, lead author of the study and program director of gastroenterology at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"We wanted to see, as a natural experiment, what happens when you change the financial burden on preventive services," Cooper said.
President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican Party have said they will "repeal and replace" the health care program, which was signed into law in 2010, with most parts of the plan phased in by 2014. It remains unclear which parts will remain and which will be replaced.
"We don't know what the future of Obamacare is," Cooper said, though he's heard that some pieces of the Affordable Care Act may be rescued, such as coverage of dependents up to age 26 and those with pre-existing conditions.
"I haven't heard anything about preventive services, but I would argue that, even if the program itself is dismantled, that would be a worthy benefit to keep," Cooper said.
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