Named among America's Top Doctors for 2020, Paul C. Kuo, MD, is chair, department of surgery at University of South Florida. Paul C. Kuo, MD, is a co-author of several medical articles, including “The Impact of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion on Vascular Surgery.”
Enacted in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACT), also called PPACA, was passed with a primary goal of making health insurance available to more people by reducing its cost. This reform law was enacted to enable households with low incomes (between 100 percent and 400 percent) of the federal poverty level get premium tax credits when acquiring health insurance coverage. In 2014, ACA Medicaid coverage was expanded to allow adults that receive income of up to 138 percent of the federal poverty limit benefit from the subsidized Medicaid service. This was done in an effort to increase access to affordable care.
Recently, a study was done to investigate the effect of the ACA Medicaid expansion on the accessibility of adult patients (between 18 and 64 years) with a vascular disorder to surgical treatment. Surgical cases evaluated during the study included treatments for thoracic aortic aneurysm, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral vascular disease, carotid artery stenosis, and chronic kidney disease. Treatment rates in states that had implemented the ACA Medicaid expansion were compared with rates in non-expansion states. At the end of the study, it was seen that rates of vascular surgeries in states that implemented the ACA Medicaid coverage were higher, suggesting that ACA Medicaid expansion enhanced access to vascular surgeries.
Enacted in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACT), also called PPACA, was passed with a primary goal of making health insurance available to more people by reducing its cost. This reform law was enacted to enable households with low incomes (between 100 percent and 400 percent) of the federal poverty level get premium tax credits when acquiring health insurance coverage. In 2014, ACA Medicaid coverage was expanded to allow adults that receive income of up to 138 percent of the federal poverty limit benefit from the subsidized Medicaid service. This was done in an effort to increase access to affordable care.
Recently, a study was done to investigate the effect of the ACA Medicaid expansion on the accessibility of adult patients (between 18 and 64 years) with a vascular disorder to surgical treatment. Surgical cases evaluated during the study included treatments for thoracic aortic aneurysm, abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral vascular disease, carotid artery stenosis, and chronic kidney disease. Treatment rates in states that had implemented the ACA Medicaid expansion were compared with rates in non-expansion states. At the end of the study, it was seen that rates of vascular surgeries in states that implemented the ACA Medicaid coverage were higher, suggesting that ACA Medicaid expansion enhanced access to vascular surgeries.
