LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18)– A new study from the University of Kentucky shows a major increase in colon cancer screenings for Medicaid patients in the state.
The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, found these screenings have increased 230 percent since the state expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.
It found that while the occurrence of colon cancer in Kentucky Medicaid patients increased after the expansion, more of them survived.
Eastern Kentucky was particularly impacted, with Medicaid coverage increasing by 199 percent.
However, the state’s Medicaid commissioner says the study does not show the ACA caused those benefits.
