Increased Medicaid eligibility of Affordable Care Act: Evidence of improved outcomes for patients with peripheral artery disease.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a debilitating disease that disproportionately affects people of low socioeconomic status and racial minority individuals. These groups also tend to have lower rates of revascularization and worse outcomes, including higher rates of major amputation. In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law, providing better opportunities for health care access to millions of uninsured Americans, although the implementation of different components started at a later date. Political issues led to uneven adaptation by states of the different ACA components. In states that adopted Medicaid expansion under the ACA, similar to that under the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law of 2006, patients of low socioeconomic status and racial minority patients gained better access to health care. This review article will examine the disparities that exist in peripheral artery disease outcomes, as well as the effects of the ACA and Medicaid expansion on revascularization, limb salvage, and major amputation rates.