10 Dollars Stops Many Mammograms
The US population is aging, well-publicized statistics indicate mammograms save lives, and convenient screening locations continue to pop up everywhere — so why are more and more American women over 50 putting off routine mammograms? A study conducted by Brown University and Harvard University suggests money is one reason.
Medical professionals have been successfully using mammograms to detect breast cancer for many years, often when the disease is still in the early stages and easier to treat. After mammography became widely accepted in the 1980’s, US mammogram screenings increased rapidly until 2000, remained steady until 2003, then suddenly started dropping off.
To uncover the causes behind the decline, researchers from Brown and Harvard conducted a study of women covered by 174 different Medicare managed-care plans. Their analysis revealed screening rates were lower among women required to pay more than $10 of the mammogram’s cost, especially in circumstances where the women previously had all mammogram expenses covered.
To arrive at their findings, the scientists examined data on 366,475 women and found those with full coverage had an 8 percent greater screening rate than patients with insurance plans requiring out-of-pocket co-pays over $10.
Continuing their investigation, the team discovered 7 plans which discontinued full coverage experienced a 5.5 percent decrease in mammography rates while 14 other plans that maintained full coverage increased their mammogram screenings by 3.4 percent during the same time period.
The most significant impact was found in low income patients with lower levels of education, as these patients were most likely to enroll in cheaper health insurance plans with larger co-payments.
The study’s lead investigator, Dr Amal Trivedi, believes Brown’s findings make a strong case for eliminating mammogram co-payments in all health insurance programs, yet higher mammogram co-pays are becoming increasingly common.
Other experts believe the problem could be bigger than that. As one stated,
“The more important story is that some Americans remain so unconvinced about mammograms that they are deterred by a $10 co-payment.”
Professor David Dranove
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Results of the study are published in the January 24, 2008, edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
If you’d like to learn more about breast cancer, you can visit the National Cancer Institute’s Breast Cancer Home Page.
Source: ABC News
Related Links: msn.com; ScienceDaily; The New York Times
Related Podcast: Breast MRI – Specialized screening for breast cancer from the Mayo Clinic
Technorati Tags: oncology; radiology; public health; cancer prevention; health reform; Providence, RI; medical imaging
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