Breast cancer patients are rightly concerned that a repeal of the Affordable Care Act will threaten their health. The fears of these women are being shared daily within our Breastcancer.org community, as well as among many other breast cancer groups across the nation. But women who have been diagnosed with the disease are not the only ones who should be worried. Since we’re all at risk of developing breast cancer, all women should see the repeal of ACA as a serious threat.
The ACA, commonly known as Obamacare, has provided important, and in many cases, life-saving protections for women with breast cancer. It has also made early detection and access to medical care a reality for many who could not afford it before the law was enacted.
[See: How to Be a Good Patient Wingman.]
Here’s what Obamacare has done for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer and what could be lost if it’s repealed:
No-Cost Breast Cancer Screenings
Under Obamacare, mammograms are fully covered by your health insurance. According to a recent study, eliminating cost-sharing for mammograms has significantly improved compliance with recommended screening guidelines among all socio-economic groups. It’s especially encouraging that utilization of these tests improved even among poorer and less educated women who historically have had low rates of screening.
Obamacare also provides free genetic counseling and BRCA testing for those who qualify for these tests to identify gene mutations that put women at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Without these subsidies, many women would not be able to afford the high-cost of genetic tests.
Both mammography and genetic testing is essential to help women diagnosed with breast cancer receive the best care possible from the very start. They also provide important opportunities for conversations between health care practitioners and patients on ways to reduce breast cancer risks. Our ultimate goal should be to focus on prevention, which is the best and least costly form of a cure.
[See: A Tour of Mammographic Screenings During Your Life.]
No Coverage Limits
Before Obamacare, there were caps on how much an insurance plan would spend on a person’s health care over her lifetime. Breast cancer treatments are extremely expensive and, for many patients, these limits on lifetime coverage meant either bankruptcy — brought about by the huge bills they’d have to cover themselves — or forgoing the treatment they needed because they couldn’t afford it. Obamacare changed that by banning lifetime limits on coverage; this applies to all health insurance plans, not only those purchased on the public exchange. If lifetime limits were to be reinstated, they could again devastate individuals and their families.
[See: What Not to Say to a Breast Cancer Patient.]
No Denial of Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions
One of the most crucial provisions breast cancer patients gained with Obamacare is that no insurance company can deny you coverage or charge you more for that coverage because you have a pre-existing condition. Before Obamacare, insurers could refuse to pay for treatments related to pre-existing conditions, deny coverage altogether or charge a higher price for that coverage. These practices were inhumane, resulting in patients with a breast cancer recurrence or metastatic disease being denied a basic right in their most vulnerable state. As one Breastcancer.org community member wrote recently about her fears of losing Obamacare and having to pay the $10,000 monthly cost for her medication, “A person should not have to choose between food, housing or paying for insurance so we can live.”
We don’t yet know what may replace Obamacare if it is repealed, but any reduction in the key benefits provided under the ACA threatens the health of women and the nation. In countries that limit access to medical care, women are more likely to be diagnosed with later-stage disease, receive lower quality care and die from breast cancer. These are the practices of third–world countries! The United States must to do better than that. Obamacare has brought us a step closer to providing every woman access to the medical care she needs, allowing her to return more quickly to a productive and meaningful life at home, at work and in her community.
More from U.S. News
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What Breast Cancer Patients Have Gained From Obamacare and What We All Could Lose if it’s Repealed originally appeared on usnews.com
