Affordable Care Act and Male Health: Achieving a National Policy Agenda

With the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law in March 2010, the importance of preventative health screenings for both men and women was impressed upon the health care system. With the adoption of the Mikulski Amendment in 2009, and the release of the 2011 Institutes of Medicine report, Clinical Preventive Services for Women: Closing the Gaps, the Department of Health and Human Services has assured that women's preventive services and screening are included in comprehensive health plan guidelines. Unfortunately, the PPACA and other national health care policies have yet to ensure male-specific preventative health screenings (such as testicular cancer and prostate cancer screening) within any essential benefits package. Additionally, while Congress (through PPACA) authorized the establishment of an Office of Indian Men's Health within the Indian Health Service, such an office has not yet been established. Realistically, there has been no centralized national effort to coordinate fragmented men's health awareness, prevention, and research efforts on the regional, state, and local level. There has been a lack of coordinated government effort to reach out to men and engage them in the healthcare system in the United States. The session will address the elimination of state mandated benefits and disease specific programs as well as the impact of PPACA's reliance on the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and what that means for men's health. This session will serve as a platform to discuss next steps toward a more comprehensive government effort within the framework of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, one that will aim to better the health and well-being of America's men, boys, and their families.