American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) is using its recognition program, "Best Practices in Women's Health," to counter the mounting anti-managed care consumer backlash that blasts HMOs for providing limited access to specialized breast cancer treatments and therapies.
Four health plans that are increasing access to breast cancer screening, education and treatment were recognized by AAHP last month - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Humana Health Plan of Chicago, Kaiser Permanente of California and Keystone Mercy Health Plan of Pennsylvania. The plans are being touted as exemplary for preserving the quality of life for members with breast cancer.
The selected plans were gleaned from more than a thousand member AAHP health plans and judged by a women's health task force. The plans use a combination of aggressive direct mail campaigns, community-based partnerships and breast cancer mentoring programs for emotional and psychological support.
For instance, Keystone targets female members in the 40-plus age range with "reminder" mailings on their birthdays. These mailings encourage women to seek mammography screenings and schedule appointments with their primary care physicians. The program, launched in 1992, has doubled the number of members getting screenings to 30 percent in 1998.
And Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, in collaboration with the American Psychological Association, is examining the effects of an intensive group psychotherapy intervention program as an enhancement to traditional therapy.
The pilot includes 32 participants attending a 16-week therapy program, and relaxation and self-help training. Although results aren't available yet (the study will go through the end of the year), it already is generating local press. The Boston Herald and the Boston CBS affiliate will be doing patient profiles about participants and their ability to cope with the disease, says Susan Leahy, BCBS's director of media relations.
AAHP and The Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based healthcare philanthropy, identified these plans as part of a new "Best Practices in Women's Health" consumer-focused series that will look at three other innovative managed care initiatives for female-focused healthcare delivery, including domestic violence, obstetrics and prenatal care and hormone replacement therapy. The Commonwealth Fund is contributing $150,000 for the two-year project.
Breast Buddy Program
Kaiser Permanente of California in collaboration with Women's Information Network Against Breast Cancer (WINABC) created the most comprehensive and innovative of the programs recognized by AAHP.
It was founded by Elizabeth Mullen, a Kaiser member diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. Mullen, a PR executive, started WINABC to fill a patient mentoring and clinical counseling void.
At the heart of the program is the "Breast Buddy" system that matches a breast cancer survivor with a recently diagnosed patient by age, ethnicity, geography and disease stage.
WINABC is offered at three Kaiser medical facilities in Fontana, Riverside and West Los Angeles and is being funded by Kaiser with a two-year $389,000 grant.
Recently, the Kaiser program generated national attention for its "breast cancer research stamp," a legislative initiative launched two years ago.
In August 1997, President Clinton signed legislation to create a Breast Cancer Research Stamp. The historic stamp costs 40 cents but is used as a first-class 32-cent stamp. It is the first to donate net proceeds to breast cancer research efforts.
The stamp was issued nationwide last month with an initial print run of 200 million. So far, the post office is shipping one million stamps per day to post offices, according to Mullen.
(AAHP, Susan Pizano, 202/778-3203; The Commonwealth Fund, Mary Mahon, 212/606-3853; BCBS, Susan Leahy, 617/832-4823; Humana, Valerie Kennedy, 502/580-1847; Keystone, Matt Cabrey, 215/937-8979; WINABC, Elizabeth Mullen, 619/488-6300)