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Health Care Reform Boosted Preventive Screenings in California
July 10, 2012
More than 1.3 million Californians received at least one preventive service free of charge during the first six months of 2012 thanks to the Affordable Care Act, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Tuesday.
Those patients were covered by Medicare prior to health care reform passing, but are now eligible for certain preventive services free of charge in addition to Medicare coverage.
“Millions of Americans are getting cancer screenings, mammograms and other preventive services for free thanks to the health care law,” Sebelius said in a statement. “These new benefits, made possible through the health care law, are helping people stay healthy by giving them the tools they need to prevent health problems before they happen.”
Nationwide, over 16 million people covered by Medicare received at least one preventive service at no cost to them so far this year, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Prior to 2011, Medicare-covered seniors were required to share the cost burden of such services.
California was an early adopter of Obamacare, and the first to launch an exchange for uninsured individuals to purchase health insurance.
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