Low-Income, Minority Women in Florida Increasingly Avoiding Mammograms Because of Cost

New studies have found that thousands of Florida women, particularly low-income blacks and Hispanics without health insurance, are not receiving mammograms because they cannot afford to pay for screenings, the... South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. According to the Sun-Sentinel, "[h]igh out-of-pocket medical costs, low Medicaid reimbursements, long wait times at radiology centers and a shortage of doctors conducting the exams" are making the annual breast exams "off limits" to women in Florida who do not have traditional health insurance. In Florida, 21.2% of non elderly residents are uninsured, compared with 17.5% nationwide, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's statehealthfacts. A series of studies conducted by a committee of health experts for the state Legislature found that 2,500 of the 13,000 Florida women who are diagnosed with breast cancer annually will die from the disease. The studies found that women had to wait an average of 28 days or longer to get tested in 17 of 121 centers that perform breast exams in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. At 67 cancer-testing sites Orlando, Fla., 40% of women had to wait about a month or more to be screened, the study found. Breast cancer awareness groups, such as the Susan G. Komen Foundation, say long waiting periods are one of main reasons why women avoid testing. To address the issue, several Republican state lawmakers have proposed bills that would limit lawsuit judgments against radiologists by placing a $150,000 cap per claimant on noneconomic damages for negligence in mammogram screening or $300,000 for all claimants. One bill (SB 2470), sponsored by state Sen. Evelyn Lynn (R), also would "toughen the burden of proof in medical liability lawsuits involving breast cancer," the Sun-Sentinel reports. However, attorneys and other lawmakers say that increasing Medicaid reimbursements for screenings will do more to encourage breast cancer screening. Currently, 21% of radiology centers in Florida do not accept Medicaid, and only 4% of women who are Medicaid beneficiaries receive mammograms, according to committee member Betsey Herd (Hollis, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 3/15).


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