Obamacare to Allow Free Breast Cancer Drugs for High Risk Individuals

Obamacare is hoping to provide individuals at high risk for breast cancer with no out of pocket costs for certain cancer medications.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, women who have an increased risk for the disease based on genetics and other factors may be eligible for certain preventive medications offered through the program.

"We are making significant advancements in combating this disease-and for women who are shown to be at a higher relative risk for breast cancer, today, access to early treatments can improve their health," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reported, via USA Today.

Under the new guidelines, certain medications, including tamoxifen and raloxifene, will be categorized as preventative medications, and women who may be at an elevated risk for breast cancer could have access to these drugs without having to pay co-pays or co-insurance.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's decision was to provide these medications at no cost as a preventative method for those who may be at high risk. For their research, they concluded that these drugs carry the potential to prevent breast cancer from developing in certain high risk women. The task force and government hope that the new guidelines will improve breast cancer mortality rates with preventative measures that could catch certain cases early on.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services, the new guidelines are available at the start one year after guidelines have been issued. The organization notes that, "non-grandfathered group health plans and non-grandfathered health insurance coverage offered in the individual or group market will be required to cover such medications for applicable women without cost sharing subject to reasonable medical management."