Patterns of mammography screening among female recipients in a fee-for-service state Medicaid program

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine annual rates and persistence with mammography screening among fee-for-service female recipients in a state Medicaid program between 2000 and 2005.

Method: Retrospective analysis of a state Medicaid fee-for-service medical claims data was conducted. Claims for female recipients who were continuously enrolled from January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2005 and were ≥40 years of age on January 1, 2000 and ≤64 years of age on December 31, 2005 were extracted. Recipients with a diagnosis of breast cancer or abnormal breast findings at any time during the six year study period were excluded. Trends in mammography screening rates were observed based on the number of females having CPT code 76092 listed at any time during each year. Persistence was measured by calculating total number of mammography screening that occurred for these recipients between 2000 and 2005. Chi-square analysis was used to compare persistence by recipient characteristics.

Results: There were a total of 13,230 continuously eligible females between 2000 and 2005. Overall screening mammography rates decreased slightly, from 25.0% in 2000 to 24.3% in 2005. Roughly three-fourth of females had low (≤2) screening persistence. Persistence among females residing in non-metro rural counties was significantly higher than those residing in metro or non-metro urban counties (p<0.05). White females had significantly higher screening persistence as compared to non-white females (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Further research is needed to evaluate knowledge and attitudes of indigent females toward mammography screening in order to develop effective breast cancer prevention strategies.