Many lacked preventive care before health reform law: U.S. report
Only about half of American adults got screenings, medications to ward off disease.
(HealthDay) -- Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, only about half of U.S. adults received preventive health services such as screenings, consultations and prescriptions, government researchers report.
Increased use of preventive health services could save tens of thousands of lives, according to the researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The investigators also noted that the Affordable Care Act -- which provides coverage for many preventive tests -- could lead to greater use of such services.
The CDC team analyzed national data from 2007 to 2010 to assess the use of certain adult preventive services such as aspirin or other blood-thinning drugs, blood pressure control, screening for and controlling high cholesterol, and quitting cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Among the findings:
- Only 47 percent of patients with heart disease primarily affecting the blood vessels were prescribed the recommended daily use of aspirin.
- Only 44 percent of patients with high blood pressure had it under control, despite recommendations that adults with high blood pressure receive a clinical treatment plan that might include medications and regular follow-up visits until healthy blood pressure is achieved.
- Despite strong evidence that screening for and treating high cholesterol reduces sickness and death due to heart disease, about 33 percent of men and 25 percent of women were not screened during the previous five years. Of the adults diagnosed with high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, only 32 percent of men and women had it under control.
- Fewer than one in 13 tobacco users were prescribed medications to help them quit their habit.
Provisions in the Affordable Care Act that could increase the use of preventive services include a requirement that new private health insurance plans cover recommended preventive services with no cost-sharing.
In addition, the health care law requires coverage for a new annual wellness visit under Medicare and eliminates cost sharing for recommended preventive services provided to Medicare beneficiaries.
The law also offers state Medicaid programs financial incentives to cover preventive services for adults and supports efforts to improve public education about the benefits of preventive services.
More information: The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about preventive services for healthy living.
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
-
Deaths Would Drop With More Preventive Services
May 04, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Health care reform can help align preventive care recommendations with Medicare coverage
Jan 17, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study: How to save 100,000 lives a year
Aug 08, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
U.S. task force issues blood pressure guidelines
May 15, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Some preventive care to have no out-of-pocket cost
Jul 15, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health
An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).
Health
23 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Youth who have their first drink during puberty have higher levels of later drinking
Research shows that the earlier the age at which youth take their first alcoholic drink, the greater the risk of developing alcohol problems. Thus, age at first drink (AFD) is generally considered a powerful predictor of ...
Health
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
British MPs concerned about parliamentary boozing
One quarter of British lawmakers believe there is an "unhealthy" drinking culture in the Houses of Parliament, according to a survey published on Friday.
Health
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Patient openness to research can depend on race and sex of study personnel
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found that the race and sex of study personnel can influence a patient's decision on whether or not to participate in clinical research.
Health
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Clinical support for patient self-management is rhetoric rather than reality
The processes to allow people to self-manage their own illness are not being used appropriately by health professionals to the benefit of their patients, new research suggests.
Health
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
'Gap' for HIV vaccine efforts after latest setback
The hunt for an HIV vaccine has gobbled up $8 billion in the past decade, and the failure of the most recent efficacy trial has delivered yet another setback to 26 years of efforts.
Consuming coffee linked to lower risk of detrimental liver disease, study finds
Regular consumption of coffee is associated with a reduced risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), an autoimmune liver disease, Mayo Clinic research shows. The findings were being presented at the Digestive Disease ...
Ketamine shows significant therapeutic benefit in people with treatment-resistant depression
Patients with treatment-resistant major depression saw dramatic improvement in their illness after treatment with ketamine, an anesthetic, according to the largest ketamine clinical trial to-date led by researchers from the ...
Research examines new methods for managing digestive health
Research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) explores new methods for managing digestive health through diet and lifestyle.
New smartphone application improves colonoscopy preparation
The use of a smartphone application significantly improves patients' preparation for a colonoscopy, according to new research presented today at Digestive Disease Week (DDW). The preparation process, which begins days in ...
New research identifies practice changes to improve value and quality of GI procedures
There are significant cost and risk factors associated with two procedures commonly used to diagnose or treat gastrointestinal problems, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).