By Ya-Chen Tina Shih, Ying Xu, Mariana Chavez-MacGregor, et al on Sunday, 01 October 2017
Category: External Research

JAMA Oncology: Association Between Quality of Care for Breast Cancer and Health Insurance Exchange Coverage An Analysis of Use of Radiation Therapy After Breast-Conserving Surgery

ABSTRACT

Research comparing quality of cancer care by insurance categories concluded that cancer patients without insurance or with Medicaid experienced inferior quality of care compared with those with private insurance. A new insurance category created from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is insurance purchased from the Health Insurance Marketplace (also known as the exchange). The present study provides empirical investigations of the quality of cancer care under the ACA by examining patterns of radiation therapy (RT) following breast-conserving surgery (BCS), an important quality of care indicator for breast cancer.