Out-of-pocket Costs for Preventive Care Persist Almost a Decade after the Affordable Care Act

(with Paul Shafer)

The Affordable Care Act aimed to reduce or eliminate patient cost-sharing for preventive services. In this paper, we assess the extent to which commercially-insured patients continue to pay out of pocket for preventive care. We find that the aggregate burden associated with these supposedly free services ranges between 75 million and 225 million dollars annually.

Read the full paper here!

Media Coverage of This Article

• Read an op-ed style explainer of this research here
• You can also read our most recent piece explaining the link between free preventive care and the COVID-19 pandemic here.
• Our work has been highlighted by multiple news outlets, most recently U.S. News, Newsmax, and Eurek Alert.

Recommended citation: Hoagland, A., & Shafer, P. (2021). Out-of-pocket costs for preventive care persist almost a decade after the Affordable Care Act. Preventive Medicine, 150.