Background.An early provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) eliminated cost-sharing for a range of recommended preventive services. This provision took effect in September 2010, but little is known about its effect on
preventive service use.
Methods.We evaluated changes in the use of recommended preventive services from 2009 (before the implementation of ACA cost-sharing provision) to 2011/2012 (after the implementation) in the Medical Expenditure
Panel Survey, a nationally representative household interview survey in the US. Specifically, we examined: blood
pressure check, cholesterol check,flu vaccination, and cervical, breast, and colorectal cancer screening, controlling for demographic characteristics and stratifying by insurance type.
Results.There were 64,280 (21,310 before and 42,970 after the implementation of ACA cost-sharing
provision) adults included in the analyses. Receipt of recent blood pressure check, cholesterol check andflu
vaccination increased significantly from 2009 to 2011/2012, primarily in the privately insured population aged
18–64 years, with adjusted prevalence ratios (95% confidence intervals) 1.03 (1.01–1.05) for blood pressure
check, 1.13 (1.09–1.18) for cholesterol check and 1.04 (1.00–1.08) forflu vaccination (allp-valuesb0.05). However, few changes were observed for cancer screening. We observed little change in the uninsured population.
Conclusions.These early observations suggest positive benefits from the ACA policy of eliminating cost-sharing for some preventive services. Future research is warranted to monitor and evaluate longer term effects of the
ACA on access to care and health outcomes