Susan G. Komen for the Cure defunds Planned Parenthood

[SWTXBelle]

Don't most (if not all) Planned Parenthood clinics refer their clients elsewhere for mammograms? If my information is correct and that is the fact, the solution would be to support the clinics doing the actual mammograms. Here in Houston we have The Rose - http://www.the-rose.org/

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Don't most (if not all) Planned Parenthood clinics refer their clients elsewhere for mammograms? If my information is correct and that is the fact, the solution would be to support the clinics doing the actual mammograms. Here in Houston we have The Rose - http://www.the-rose.org/

It is very rare for clinics to have their own mammogram equipment. Clinics that support low income communities would have a hard time affording mammogram equipment, a mammography tech, the tracking software and radiologists salary to do mammography on site. Patients can't just go to a mammography clinic directly either. You have to have a primary physician. The VAST majority of services for low income women, ie. Health Units, Well Woman, PP, etc send out referrals just like your regular doctor would. They then pay the bill to the mammography center. Mostly these groups have contracts with mammography groups to care for their patients. My group sees all of Pinal County and Maricopa County Health Unit patients in Arizona. The Health Unit doesn't have it's own mammo business. BTW, there are NO free mammogram clinics in the Phoenix area. Even with the services we have, there are thousands of women who cannot get coverage for mammograms in this area.

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

It is very rare for clinics to have their own mammogram equipment. Clinics that support low income communities would have a hard time affording mammogram equipment, a mammography tech, the tracking software and radiologists salary to do mammography on site. Patients can't just go to a mammography clinic directly either. You have to have a primary physician. The VAST majority of services for low income women, ie. Health Units, Well Woman, PP, etc send out referrals just like your regular doctor would. They then pay the bill to the mammography center. Mostly these groups have contracts with mammography groups to care for their patients. My group sees all of Pinal County and Maricopa County Health Unit patients in Arizona. The Health Unit doesn't have it's own mammo business. BTW, there are NO free mammogram clinics in the Phoenix area. Even with the services we have, there are thousands of women who cannot get coverage for mammograms in this area.

Again, I draw your attention to the example of The Rose, where patients can be seem without a referral, as an example of how it can work. My mother, who has insurance, has hers at The Rose because the insured patients help support services for the uninsured. My point is that those (including SGK) who are interested in providing services to low income or uninsured women should direct their money to making that type of program more accessible. If the Planned Parenthood clinics have been making referrals to existing clinics then other organizations now need to step forward to either 1.) enable women to be referred or 2.) enable women to get screening mammograms without a referral. I think it is incumbent on SGK to step up and insure that the women who were being served by Planned Parenthood are not left without access to screenings. I am gobsmacked that an area as large as Phoenix is without free services.

[ComradesTrue]

List of grantees from SGK Phoenix:

http://www.komenphoenix.org/grants/c...nt-recipients/

There are quite a few to organizations that provide mammograms to uninsured and under-insured women. For example, this is the very first grantee listed:

WELL WOMAN HEALTHCHECK PROGRAM
Arizona’s Well Woman HealthCheck Program, a state-wide program that provides free cancer screening to those that qualify, is the first contact for women with no health insurance and no diagnosis of breast cancer. The program is operated by the Arizona Department of Health Services through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Women on the program may receive a Clinical Breast Exam, Mammogram, Pelvic Exam and Pap Test. To qualify, call:
In Maricopa County - 602-506-3000
Outside Maricopa County - 1-888-257-8502

There are many others listed.

Oh, and psst Belle- it's SGK, not SBK. Susan B was Anthony!

[pbear19]

This is damn funny.

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by Blondie93

List of grantees from SGK Phoenix:

http://www.komenphoenix.org/grants/c...nt-recipients/

There are quite a few to organizations that provide mammograms to uninsured and under-insured women. For example, this is the very first grantee listed:



There are many others listed.

Oh, and psst Belle- it's SGK, not SBK. Susan B was Anthony!

Whoops! Here's what is now running through my head - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaBCw...eature=related

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Again, I draw your attention to the example of The Rose, where patients can be seem without a referral, as an example of how it can work. My mother, who has insurance, has hers at The Rose because the insured patients help support services for the uninsured. My point is that those (including SGK) who are interested in providing services to low income or uninsured women should direct their money to making that type of program more accessible. If the Planned Parenthood clinics have been making referrals to existing clinics then other organizations now need to step forward to either 1.) enable women to be referred or 2.) enable women to get screening mammograms without a referral. I think it is incumbent on SGK to step up and insure that the women who were being served by Planned Parenthood are not left without access to screenings. I am gobsmacked that an area as large as Phoenix is without free services.

Originally Posted by Blondie93

List of grantees from SGK Phoenix:

http://www.komenphoenix.org/grants/c...nt-recipients/

There are quite a few to organizations that provide mammograms to uninsured and under-insured women. For example, this is the very first grantee listed:



There are many others listed.

Oh, and psst Belle- it's SGK, not SBK. Susan B was Anthony!

I read about your clinic, Belle. They are EXTREMELY rare. Wouldn't it be nice to have those available to women, but they don't exist everywhere.

BTW, Well Women does NOT perform mammography. They also have a LONG waiting list for women in AZ. For a lot of these grantees, you'll see they are in conjunction with John C Lincoln or another center... because they don't do mammography on site. Trust me, I know how mammography is provided in my community. Yavapai and Maracopa counties refer out. Even the hospitals that have direct grants are using referrals BECAUSE you need a physician to see the patient and follow up the result. Cutting out the primary physician is ludicrous and is NOT how medicine is performed in this country. Even Mobile-On Site-Mammography gets a majority of its patients due to referrals from physicians in underserved areas not from patients without doctors who can't afford care. They have to send their diagnostic exams out to Mammo centers on referral as well. It's a specious argument.


ETA: I'm on a CDC committee for young breast cancer survivors through John C Lincoln Hospital, BTW, and at our last meeting we were discussing the difficulties getting screening/treatment for women in the state of AZ despite the nonprofit work. With the help of Jan Brewer and our legislature severely cutting Medicaid many women can no longer qualify for screening or diagnostic mammography. The horrible reality is that if they aren't diagnosed through the well women program, they don't qualify for federal grants to pay for treatment and aren't being treated either.