Breast cancer survival rates higher in Medicaid expansion states, study finds
Source: Nebraska Examiner
By: Nada Hassanein - February 9, 2026 4:45 am
Women with breast cancer living in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility were less likely to die from the disease — but not everyone benefited equally, according to a recent study published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.
Researchers from Howard University, the University of Alabama, Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan, and others looked at data from about 1.6 million women ages 40 to 64 who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2006 and 2021.
They compared survival rates among women living in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, with the rates in states that did not expand. About 58% of the women lived in expansion states, and roughly 42% lived in nonexpansion states. States began expanding Medicaid in 2014.
The researchers found that Medicaid expansion was associated with lower overall mortality — no matter the disease stage, race or ethnicity, or neighborhood income of the women. Women in expansion states whose cancer had spread to other organs — the most advanced stage of disease — saw the most significant decline in deaths.
Read more: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/02/09/repub/breast-cancer-survival-rates-higher-in-medicaid-expansion-states-study-finds/
DUH!!!
= new reply since forum marked as read
that people with easier and better access to health care would have better health outcomes!
I wonder if there is any correlation? I wonder if the cancer knows that it is government paying for the treatment?
Ohio had a special program for breast cancer patients, too. I can honestly say I don’t think I’d be here today if they hadn’t paid for my treatment and surgeries. This was in 2007.
