Patient Cost Exposure And Use Of Preventive Care Among ACA-Compliant Individual Plans

Health Aff (Millwood). 2023 Apr;42(4):531-536. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00575.

Abstract

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandated coverage of common preventive services with zero patient cost sharing. However, patients may still experience high same-day costs when receiving these "zero-dollar" preventive services. Our analysis of on- and off-exchange individual-market health plans during 2016-18 revealed that 21-61 percent of enrollees experienced same-day cost exposure greater than $0 when accessing ACA-mandated free preventive services.

MeSH terms

  • Cost Sharing
  • Humans
  • Insurance Coverage*
  • Insurance, Health
  • Patient Compliance
  • Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act*
  • Preventive Health Services
  • United States