Related Experiment Video For Affordable care act policy impacts
Updated: Sep 8, 2025
Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Visualization in the Treatment of Locally Advanced Thyroid Cancer
Published on: June 9, 2023
Medicaid expansion and thyroid cancer stage at presentation: A comparative study of two US states
Oluwasegun Akinyemi1, Terhas Weldeslase2, Mojisola Fasokun3
1The Clive O Callender Outcomes Research Center, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington DC, USA; Department of Health Policy & Management, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD, USA.
Background:
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) enabled states to expand Medicaid eligibility, extending coverage to millions, particularly in California. While Medicaid expansion has been linked to earlier diagnoses in several cancers, its impact on thyroid cancer-a slow-growing malignancy lacking formal screening-remains unclear.
Objective:
To assess whether Medicaid expansion influenced thyroid cancer stage at presentation.
Methods:
A retrospective cohort study using SEER data (2009-2020) compared adults aged 18-64 diagnosed with thyroid cancer in California (expansion) and Texas (non-expansion). Difference-in-differences logistic regression evaluated stage changes pre- (2009-2013) and post- (2016-2020) expansion, excluding a 2014-2015 washout period.
Results:
Among 63,073 patients, no significant difference in stage at diagnosis was observed between states. Estimates for localized, regional, and distant disease changes ranged from -1.3 % to 1.1 % (all 95 % CIs included zero).
Conclusion:
Medicaid expansion was not associated with a significant shift in thyroid cancer stage at presentation.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Synthesis and Regulation of Thyroid Hormones
Upon reaching the thyroid gland, TSH stimulates the follicular cells' active uptake of iodide ions from the blood. The ions diffuse to the apical surface of the cells and are oxidized to iodine. The...
01:23The Thyroid Gland
The follicles have a central cavity lined by simple cuboidal to squamous epithelial cells called follicular cells. These cells produce the glycoprotein...