MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
MAMMOGRAMS FOR UNINSURED PENNSYLVANIA WOMEN

The PBCC has always been committed to making mammograms available to all of Pennsylvania's uninsured and underinsured women 40 and older.  When the Mother's Day Mammograms® program began, the PA Department of Health's HealthyWoman Program provided mammograms, clinical breast exams, and Pap tests for women between the ages of 50 and 64.  Medicare covered the cost of mammograms for women 65 and older but at that time Medicare limited the coverage to every other year.  The National Cancer Institute recommended annual screenings for all women 40 and over, and Mother's Day Mammograms® was created to fill the gaps in screening services.

Mother's Day Mammograms® served to:

• connect eligible uninsured Pennsylvania women between the ages of 40 and 49 with participating facilities offering free mammograms, and to provide the same service for women aged 65 and older in their off year of Medicare coverage, and
• refer eligible uninsured women between the ages of 50 and 64 to the PA Department of Health's HealthyWoman Program for services.

Eventually, Medicare coverage was expanded to cover annual mammograms for women 65 and older, eliminating the need for Mother's Day Mammograms® to offer services to women in that age group.

Now, thanks to PBCC advocacy efforts, the Pennsylvania Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Screening Act has been unanimously passed by the PA legislature and signed by Governor Edward G. Rendell, making free mammograms available to eligible uninsured and underinsured women 40 to 49.  The bill creates a program within the PA Department of Health to make annual breast and cervical cancer screenings available to eligible women 40 to 49, complementing the existing program for women 50 to 64.  Women whose family income does not exceed 250% of the federal poverty level with no other access to health insurance qualify for screenings under the PBCC legislation.

In light of this legislative victory for Pennsylvania women and families, it is time for the PBCC to declare MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!  Our goal of making mammograms available to every Pennsylvania woman 40 and over has been met!

On behalf of the thousands of women over the years who have been helped through the Mother's Day Mammograms® program, the PBCC thanks our friends at the PA Department of Health, Family Health Council, Commerce Bank and the participating hospitals and clinics.

To see if you qualify for a mammogram, Pap test and clinical breast exam through the PA Department of Health's HealthyWoman Program, call 1-800-215-7494.