Expanded insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, and the resulting cost and care benefits, could improve hypertension (HT) outcomes in the United States, say authors of a recent paper.
Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and McMaster University in Ontario found that reducing out-of-pocket drug costs and sticking to one provider can help improve treatment for high blood pressure.
The authors reviewed 53 studies – from countries including the U.S., Cameroon, China, Finland, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, Greece and Brazil – and published their findings in PLoS Medicine, an open-access medical journal.
The authors likened hypertension to other chronic diseases whereby people suffer from the condition and, thus, are not adequately treated. “Weaknesses in health care systems probably contribute to the inadequate treatment of hypertension,” the authors wrote.
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