A National Study of Out-of-Pocket Expenditures for Mammography Screening

Abstract

Ordinary least squares regression was used to describe relationships among out-of-pocket mammography expenditures, total mammography expenditures, and out-of-pocket mammography expenditures as a percentage of total mammography expenditures and such independent variables as insurance status and type, income, region of the United States, and type of facility where a mammogram was received. Results: The average out-of-pocket expenditure for a mammogram in 2007 or 2008 was $33, representing 14.1% of the total mammogram expenditure ($266). After controlling for demographic and health factors, women who were uninsured, were from the Midwest, and had a mammogram at an office-based facility had greater out-ofpocket mammography expenditures. Women who were uninsured, lived in the South, and received their mammogram at an office-based facility had out-of-pocket mammography expenditures that represented a greater proportion of the total mammography expenditures. Conclusions: Large variations in out-of-pocket expenditures were observed among women with and without insurance and between insurance types, geographic regions of the United States, and types of facilities where mammograms were received. A higher financial burden of mammography screening among some subgroups of women may act as a barrier to future mammography screening.

The Patient Burden of Screening Mammography Recall

“…19 More recently, the average patient cost for a mammogram was estimated to be $33 (2007-2008 US$), constituting 14.1% of the $266 total mammography expense. 18 This is consistent with the $40 average cost we identified among all recalled patients for diagnostic mammography.…”

“…[13][14][15][16][17] Direct medical costs to the patient are dependent upon the presence and type of health insurance. [18][19][20] Adverse physical or psychological effects experienced by some patients as a result of a false positive may amplify the burden. [21][22] False positives have been associated with shortterm increases in anxiety 15 and with temporary decrements in quality of life measures.…”

Elimination of cost‐sharing and receipt of screening for colorectal and breast cancer

“…Unlike CRC screening, there was no change in BC screening prevalence noted among low‐income women and those with lower educational attainment. This may be due to fewer pre‐ACA financial barriers because the cost of mammography is substantially lower than that of colonoscopy, and BC screening is better supported by women's health initiatives such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program . In addition, BC screening prevalence may have less room for improvement because it has already been markedly higher than the corresponding estimate for CRC screening .…”

Who benefited from the New Rural Cooperative Medical System in China? A case study on Anhui Province

“…Equity is widely acknowledged to be an important policy objective in China’s health care sector [ 5 , 6 ], and equity evaluation of incidence of expenditure and benefits in the health sector has attracted considerable international interest. The distribution of health care financing and expenditure in the U.S. [ 7 , 8 ], Africa [ 9 ], Asia [ 10 ], and Vietnam [ 11 ] have been analyzed, and the equity of benefit of health insurance has been assessed in Tanzania [ 12 ], Iran [ 13 ], Africa [ 14 ], Nigeria [ 15 ], and Vietnam [ 16 ]. Some studies in China have analyzed the effectiveness of NCMS benefits, and results have been either inconsistent or negative results.…”