In the U.S. today, there’s a 1 in 8 chance a woman will be diagnosed with the disease. About 42,170 women will die from breast cancer in 2020 alone. While these are sobering statistics, we know that early detection saves lives.

According to the American Cancer Society, when breast cancer is detected early, and is in the localized stage, the five-year survival rate is 99%. It’s especially important to encourage women not only to get mammograms but to seek out follow-up care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released its Medicaid and CHIP Scorecard highlighting quality improvement measures—including breast cancer screening rates—voluntarily reported by states. The breast cancer screening report shows the percentage of women ages 50 to 74 who received a screening mammogram in each state. The median across all states that submitted data was 54.6%, which means more work remains to educate and encourage women to get timely cancer screenings.

Driving Clinical Outcomes  

HMS’ health engagement solution uses personalized, multichannel outreach to educate women on the importance of breast cancer screenings. Women are reminded to schedule their mammograms, barriers to care are collected, and assistance scheduling appointments is provided, if needed. Women in the Medicaid population are far more likely to report socioeconomic barriers to care such as lack of transportation or concerns about childcare. When possible, we address any barriers by providing additional resources or benefits education.  

Our preventive care outreach programs are designed by health engagement experts to improve breast cancer screening rates as measured by the Medicaid and CHIP Scorecard, HEDIS^® and CMS Star Ratings. The women we engage have a nearly 13% higher breast cancer screening rate than those not engaged.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s even more important to remind women that delayed or canceled appointments could have long-term health consequences. Breast cancer treatment is most effective when the disease is caught early.

The HMS team is committed to raising awareness about breast cancer by celebrating survivors and remembering those we’ve lost. We’ll also continue the work we do to help save lives by encouraging women to take action and get a mammogram.

Together, we can beat breast cancer. Join us in the fight.

To learn more about HMS' Eliza preventive care outreach programs, contact us today. 

About the Author

Bill Lucia is chairman, president and CEO of HMS. He was appointed CEO and elected to the board of directors in 2009. In July 2015, Bill was named chairman of the board. From May 2005 to March 2009, Bill served as HMS’ president and chief operating officer. Under Bill’s leadership, HMS has become a leading healthcare analytics and technology organization, providing payment accuracy and population health management solutions to more than 500 payers and 50 government agencies. Prior to joining HMS, Bill was a senior vice president of operations and chief information officer for Celtic Life Insurance Company and senior vice president of Insurance Operations for North American Company for Life and Health Insurance. Outside of HMS, Bill serves on the board of directors for AllyAlign Health and Australia’s Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre, the largest of its kind in the world. In addition, Bill is a fellow of the Life Management Institute program through LOMA, an international association of insurance and financial services companies engaging in research and educational activities to improve operations

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