The Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks (BCFO) partners with 18 hospitals in southwest Missouri to provide vouchers for free mammogram screenings, but the organization is not issuing as many as it would like.
Joe Daues, CEO of the BCFO, said the organization has been promoting its mammogram program, and learning along the way.
“We are doing what we call road shows, where over the past year we have been invited to get into communities we’ve served for 21 years now and enjoy meeting with businesses, philanthropists, health care employees and survivors we’ve helped,” he said. “And, we visit with organizations we think can help more. As we’ve been doing that, we’ve realized even after 21 years, we are not a household name, but people generally know who we are. They just don’t know all we do.”
The BCFO works with local communities to improve breast cancer screening rates and provide families in breast cancer treatment with the financial and emotional support they need.
Daues gave a “Road Show” presentation at the Cassville Rotary Club in June, emphasizing the county’s underutilization of the BCFO.
“We aren’t always the first place that comes to mind after a diagnosis,” he said. “They also don’t really know we cover mammograms for the uninsured. Like if someone has an aunt that hasn’t had a mammogram in 10 years because of the cost, we can help.”
The BCFO supports 37 counties, and in total have provided $208,000 in assistance to 134 Barry County families since 2000. Its early detection program is a partnership with 18 hospitals to encourage annual screenings for the uninsured or underinsured. Barry County utilized 34 vouchers last year and has used 14 by mid-June this year.
“Delving into the data, I believe our program is being overwhelmingly underused,” Daues said. “We hope to open it up to more people. If you are 35 or older, you need an annual mammogram, and if you cannot afford it, please get a voucher from us. Once you receive one, it’s just like using insurance.”
Daues said it’s not just Barry County, but region-wide, there are vouchers left unused.
“Newton, Jasper and Greene counties are our big population centers, but even their use of the program is low,” he said. “In rural areas it’s lower, possibly because those people do not drive by the doctor’s office all the time or think about it. If you live in Washburn, you don’t see a doctor’s office every day as a reminder.”
Vouchers are available to women and men 35 or older, though some circumstances may lower that threshold.
“If you have a family member who was diagnosed at 42, we go back 10 years, so you can get a voucher at 32,” Daues said. “We try not to set a ton of rules because we are trying to get them to the women who need them.”
The vouchers provide a free mammogram screening, and should something be detected, the patient would then receive a diagnostic mammogram, which is covered by a state program.
“We do the screenings and they do the diagnostics as our way of helping the state save money,” Daues said.
Anyone interested in a voucher from the BCFO should fill out an application form at www.bcfo.org.
“When you fill out a form, it goes to the program director, then if approved and the voucher is sent,” Daues said. “When you get it, you call your provider and say you have the voucher.”
To qualify financially, household size and income levels include:
one person, $51,040; two people, $67,640; three people, $85,320; four people, $103,000; and five people, $120,680.
Looking forward, Daues said he is working with companies like George’s to reach even deeper into the communities of southwest Missouri.
“We are making an effort to reach out to those less-served populations,” he said. “We have a lot of Hispanics, Afghanistan refugees and Pacific islander populations in our area. Maybe through working with places like George’s, we can reach their family members who may not know about us.”
