Medicaid Expansion and Overall Mortality Among Women With Breast Cancer

Is Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act associated with lower overall mortality among women with breast cancer?In a cohort study of 1 595 845 women aged 40 to 64 years with breast cancer, Medicaid expansion was associated with lower overall mortality. Lower mortality was observed across disease stage, race and ethnicity, neighborhood income, and treatment strata, with the largest relative gains among Hispanic women and with smaller gains among non-Hispanic Black women and residents of low-income areas.The findings of this study suggest that Medicaid expansion was associated with improved survival among women with breast cancer, although the benefits were not equitably distributed.

Corresponding Author: Chioma Ekwunazu, BS, The Clive O. Callender Outcomes Research Center, Howard University College of Medicine, 2041 Georgia Ave NW, No. 4002, Washington, DC 20060 (chioma.ekwunazu@bison.howard.edu).

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