Women's Cancer Screening Services Utilization versus their Insurance source

Early detection of cancer is primarily important to save human lives, thus increasing the utilization of cancer screening services for women will contribute to the decrease in cancer mortality among female population.

Study objective: Investigate variations in mammography, pap testing and clinical breast exam service utilization by insurance status.

Data and analysis: 2000 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) dataset: Logistic regression to examine likelihood of service utilization by women with private, Medicaid, other public coverage (Medicare, military, and Indian Health Services), and uninsured relative to privately insured women, controlling for age, education, employment status, income and race.

Results: Women with Medicaid and other public coverage were the groups most likely to have pap smear tests relative to those with private insurance and the uninsured (difference between the latter was not significant). In contrast, for mammography and clinical breast exam services, privately insured women were more likely to have used services relative to Other public coverage. Uninsured women were less likely to have used these services. There is no statistically significant difference between Medicaid and private insurance in mammogram utilization.

Policy implication: The reasons for lower utilization of mammography by Medicare and other public source covered women need investigation. Uninsured women continue to face barriers in accessing cancer screening services despite evidence of the cost effectiveness of screening. Policies are needed to address this gap.