Get the Care You Need—Even Without Insurance

Transcript:

Jamie Forward: Dr. Levin, are there any resources or free services for women without insurance?

Dr. Wendy Levin: Yeah. So again, very important to be able to have these resources available to patients because again, we want to reach across all socioeconomic backgrounds. And working with our social workers, it’s vital for us to connect these underinsured patients to local, state, and federal infrastructure to allow equality of care. And so, there are a number of resources. Probably notably is the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. This is a CDC funded program. Provides low income, underinsured women access to free breast and cervical cancer screening exams.

It also incorporates diagnostic follow-ups and even biopsies. And additionally, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Susan G. Komen Foundation, these are nonprofits that regularly fund local community health centers and mobile mammography vans to provide completely free 3D imaging in underserved areas.

There is the federally qualified healthcare centers, which are community based. And finally, there’s the Medicaid Cancer Treatment Program that patients may qualify for if they’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer or cervical cancer through a federal screening program. They’re fast-tracked into state Medicaid coverage, and that actually ensures that they will get prompt and appropriate treatment. Whether that includes surgery, radiation, chemotherapy. They’re fully funded really regardless of their prior insurance status. 

Jamie Forward: Those sound like some really great resources. So, it sounds like maybe even going to those websites and reaching out there, I’m sure there’s support on those websites. Would that be accurate?

Dr. Wendy Levin: Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. There’s a lot of information actually on these websites and on the Internet that really allow women to quickly get into these resources.