Women’s Health Check offers free breast and cervical cancer screening to women who qualify. Exams are available from more than 250 qualified Idaho providers including district health departments, clinics, tribal health facilities, gynecologists, and family practice doctors.
Enrollment is simple. Contact a Women’s Health Check enrollment center for information.
How did it get started?
Recognizing the value of screening and early detection, Congress passed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act of 1990, which established the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). The NBCCEDP provides screening services, including clinical breast examinations, mammograms, pelvic examinations, and Pap test to underserved women. The NBCCEDP also funds post-screening diagnostic and case management services.
How long has it been available in Idaho?
Idaho’s Women’s Health Check (WHC) program was federally funded in October 1996 for comprehensive screening through a Cooperative Agreement with the NBCCEDP. By spring 1997, the program was launched locally, with three Health Districts piloting the program. WHC now has contracted to coordinate screening and diagnostic services for eligible Women’s Health Check partners to provide breast and cervical cancer education and outreach opportunities, and clinical breast exam training for health care professionals.
Women’s Health Check is for women who:
Do not have any other resources such as health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid that covers mammograms or Pap tests. Do not have income above that shown in the following chart:
|
Persons in Family Unit
|
Annual Income
|
Monthly Income
|
|
1
|
$21,660
|
$1,805
|
|
2
|
29,140
|
2,428
|
|
3
|
36,620
|
3,052
|
|
4
|
44,100
|
3,675
|
|
5
|
51,580
|
4,298
|
|
6
|
59,060
|
4,922
|
|
7
|
66,540
|
5,545
|
|
8
|
74,020
|
6,168
|
|
For each additional person add
|
7,480
|
623
|
3. Are one of the following:
● Women aged 50-65 for Pap test, clinical breast exam and
mammogram or
● Women aged 40-49 for Pap test. Note: Women who have not had
a Pap test in the last 5 years are at high risk for cervical cancer
and are a priority for enrollment.
● Age 65 or older and is NOT eligible for Medicare, or does not have
Medicare Part B.
● Limited enrollment and services available for uninsured women who
meet these additional criteria:
* Age 30-49 and have symptoms suspicious of breast cancer confirmed
by a health care professional
* Age 30-39 and have symptoms suspicious of Cervical cancer
confirmed by a health care professional
Women’s Health Check provides regular cancer screenings for qualifying women - because once is not enough.
What does it cover?
· Annual clinical breast examination (CBE);
· Annual mammogram;
· Annual Pap test: After three consecutive normal Pap tests, Women’s
Health Check will cover one Pap test every three years; and
· Diagnostic services, if needed.
Most mammograms and Pap tests are normal. However, any problems found are much easier to cure when discovered early.
Changes in the cervix can be found even before cancer develops. That’s why it is important not to wait to be tested.
Be Secure. Be Sure.