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by Alan McBride
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported Monday that the Affordable Care Act helped more than 1,123,000 people in Florida with original Medicare receive at least one preventive service at no cost to them during the first five months of 2012.
The figures include more than 85,000 people who took advantage of the Annual Wellness Visit provided by the Affordable Care Act.
Federal officials said the health care law was making it possible for millions of Americans to get cancer screenings, mammograms, and other preventive services for free.
The free preventive services are helping people in Medicare stay healthy and that, in turn, was helping to lower their health care costs.
One of the major goals of the Affordable Care Act is a focus on better health through preventing problems before they happen.
That dovetails with medical axioms such as "An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure."
Prior to 2011, people with Medicare faced cost-sharing for many preventive benefits such as cancer screenings.
Under the Affordable Care Act, preventive benefits are offered free of charge to beneficiaries, with no deductible or co-pay, so that cost is no longer a barrier for seniors who want to stay healthy and treat problems early.
The law also added a new service for people with Medicare, an Annual Wellness Visit with the doctor of their choice, at no cost to beneficiaries.
The Affordable Care Act is under fire in the U.S., as attorneys general from 26 states have filed a massive suit to have it overturned.
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