More middle-aged stroke survivors are able to afford their preventive medications under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), meaning fewer patients are at an increased risk for cardiovascular conditions like hypertension and diabetes, Reuters reported this week.
The research, published in JAMA Neurology, found the proportion of stroke survivors who didn’t take medications as prescribed due to cost rose steadily from 2000 to 2013, eventually reaching 24 percent—but that rate has fallen to 18 percent after the implementation of the ACA.
“It was harder for younger stroke survivors to afford medications before the ACA because many were uninsured,” lead study author Deborah Levine, of the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, told Reuters. “After implementation of the [ACA], health insurance coverage, namely Medicaid, increased and skipping medications due to cost decreased among younger stroke survivors."
Middle-aged stroke survivors are unique in that they’re less likely than older patients to qualify for health Medicare, Levine said. And half of these survivors under 65 years old are forced to spend at least 10 percent of their disposable income on healthcare, including an average of 11 pills a day for stroke prevention.
Now, the researchers said, even when accounting for health insurance, the ACA implementation has led to 24 percent lower odds that people will fail to take their prescribed medications.
Read the full Reuters report below:
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.