A copayment of $12.50 to $35 reduces by 8.3 percentage points the likelihood that women will receive regular mammograms to detect breast cancer, according to a study published Jan. 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers examined data from more than 366,000 women ages 65 to 69 who were enrolled in 174 Medicare managed care plans in 38 states between 2001 and 2004. During that time, the number of plans requiring a copay for a mammogram increased from three in 2001 to 21 in 2004. Most copays were $20, but the amounts ranged from $12.50 to $35. The study found that mammogram rates increased by 3.4 percentage points among women in plans that paid the full amount, while the rates declined by 5.5 percentage points among women who had a copay.
