Colon Cancer State Rankings

CBS Evening News: Report Card On Which States Require Insurance Companies To Pay For Screenings

(CBS)  Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women in this country, killing nearly 50,000 people annually.

But when detected early, it can be successfully treated the vast majority of the time.

The results of the 2009 Colorectal Cancer Screening Legislation Report Card were recently released. CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reports that for the first time since it was first issued six years ago, the report shows that more states have received an A than a failing grade for their colon cancer screening laws. Twenty-one states, plus D.C., got an A, and 19 have gotten an F.

And what a difference a grade can make.

Sixty-year-old Catherine Murray-Rust plays tennis, goes ballroom dancing, and has even run two marathons since Moving to Atlanta last summer. But now, she’s been on a different kind of marathon -- one that’s a lot more grueling.

“It changes your perspective on life significantly,” Murray-Rust said. “Every day becomes much more important to you.”

Back in Colorado in 2006, she wanted to get a routine colonoscopy, which is generally recommended starting at age 50. She called her insurance company.

“I asked if they would cover a colonoscopy and they asked me whether it was preventative or diagnostic,” Murray-Rust said. “I said it was preventative. And they said, ‘in which case, we won't pay for it.’”

She delayed the $3,000 test. Then last August, when she moved to Atlanta to head up the Georgia Tech University library, she decided she’d waited long enough.

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How Does Your State Rank?: Check out the report card on efforts to pass laws requiring insurers to cover colon cancer screening.

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“It probably was a bad thing that I held out quite so long,” Murray-Rust said.

She was happy to learn that the same company that denied coverage in Colorado would pay for the exam in Georgia - but the results were devastating.

“When they did the surgery on January 5, the pathology report from that surgery confirmed that I had early Stage 3 colon cancer,” she said.

What was the life or death difference between Georgia and Colorado?

Georgia, which received an A in the colon cancer report card, has a law requiring that insurance companies pay for the most comprehensive colon cancer screening. States receiving an F have no requirements, which should make their residents ask questions.

“Why do I live in a state that doesn't allow me standard of care, providing colon cancer screening, which we know not only saves money, but more importantly saves lives?,” said Dr. David A. Johnson, professor of medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School, of the questions that residents in F states should ask.

Murray-Rust’s cancer spread to two of her lymph nodes, and now she’s getting chemotherapy.

“It's extremely difficult for one's health and for one's family,” she said. “It's a hard thing, especially as 90 percent of colon cancers can be prevented if you catch them early.

On a bittersweet note, Colorado became an A state this year, which means an insurance company must cover a colonoscopy if a doctor orders one.

[legacyabq]

This is BS insurnce companies are a business.. If you want them to pay for every test someone thinks of they'd go broke.. Get a doctor to order it, dont call tem up yourself.. I mean DUH..

And, if you want good insurance, read the fine print and get a plan that has the coverage you want..

My god americns are a pathetic whiney bunch ofknownothings

[skyk-2009]

The decision to tested for colorectal cancer via colonoscopy or flex sigmoidoscopy should be made by a physician and patient. An insurance company should have absolutely nothing to do with this decision. It is unfortunate that most of medicine these days is governed by insurance companies. This is a good example of why a national single payer program is so important. When there are screening tests or programs that obviously save lives then they need to be done without insurance company interference.
Posted by brainteaser2 at 5:22 PM : Mar 6, 2009

Very true indeed. We have a friend who lives in Canada and they never have these things happen AND the cost is so much lower than ours.

[skyk-2009]

How dare that Doctor on CBS say, that if you have blood in the stool, you have cancer. What is wrong with him? He should retract his statement, he had to have scared most anyone who is waiting for a colonscopy ( including myself ) half to death himself. His statement was cruel and not right to say.
Posted by mom3204 at 12:43 PM : Mar 6, 2009

You should read the Article all the way through again.

[rhs648]

Buying health insurance isn't any more difficult than buying a new car. Every insurance company has literature, flyers, and brochures that explain what is and what isn't covered. All you have to do is compare policies between different companies. You then decide on a plan based on the premium you are willing to pay and the benefits you want. With new cars, everyone pays a different price according to your negotiating abilities. Some people pay the full price while others pay varying prices as they to bargain with the salesperson. To add spice, perhaps insurance companies should do the same thing.

[rhs648]

The decision to tested for colorectal cancer via colonoscopy or flex sigmoidoscopy should be made by a physician and patient. An insurance company should have absolutely nothing to do with this decision. It is unfortunate that most of medicine these days is governed by insurance companies. This is a good example of why a national single payer program is so important. When there are screening tests or programs that obviously save lives then they need to be done without insurance company interference.

You apparently have little or no experience with a national single pay program. My father had medicare while he was alive. Medicaire is a single pay program of the United States government. for people over 65. Just like all of the private health plans, there are plenty of restrictions. There are limits on what is covered and who is eligible for certain procedures. For example, after my father had a stroke, medicare would only pay for three physical therapy sessions. At that time, prescriptions were not covered. Further, not all doctors accepted medicare. On the other hand, before my father retired, his private plan payed for anything the doctors felt were medically necessary and all of his prescriptions.

[DocMultz]

This is a cancer that could have been prevented by removal of a suspicious polyp or at least diagnosed and treated early. She is now on chemotherapy. At best it is a difficult treatment for the patient and an expensive one for the insurance company.

Healthcare decisions should be made at the bedside, not in the boardroom.

Healthcare in America is too expensive and of inferior quality because it is uncoordinated, and wastefully mismanaged by administrators who neither know nor care about treating patients. Corporate profits and shareholder dividends siphon the funds needed to treat the uninsured. We spent $1.34 trillion on healthcare in 2004 and $1.9 trillion in 2006 and $2.1 trillion in 2008. This is projected to double to $4.1 trillion in 10 years. More than 30% of that money (at least $700 Billion) is wasted on inefficient administration. And decisions about what specialist you can see or what treatment you can have are made by bottom-liner business people. Now with the influence of President Obama, interest is rising on healthcare reform. That is certainly good, but nearly every plan uses the insurance industry with competition as the vehicle for delivery of care. That is a tragic mistake. It maintains the source of our high costs and reduced quality. It keeps the costs that are sinking the ship and adds further $billions in expenses to cover the uninsured. There is another way that is simple, that uses techniques and methods already tried and in use, but that saves $Billions while it provides universal coverage. And it is uniquely American. See www.GoodMedicineAmerica.com or American Medicine MisManaged Care (amazon.com) or call 1800 800 9111 for info. And tell your Gov Reps.

[missingamerica]

Nice map, CBS.

Someday, CBS, you need to publish nice color maps of both the major industries' (finance, Wall Street, insurance, oil, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, unions, etc.) "campaign contributions" to federal, state, and local elected officials as well as their physical "presence" in the individual states so that America can correlate between them and maps such as the one you include in this article.

Americans are pretty bright; having that information readily available would go far to enlighten our voters...and with computers and a list of "Show me!" buttons on a web page...

[brainteaser2]

The decision to tested for colorectal cancer via colonoscopy or flex sigmoidoscopy should be made by a physician and patient. An insurance company should have absolutely nothing to do with this decision. It is unfortunate that most of medicine these days is governed by insurance companies. This is a good example of why a national single payer program is so important. When there are screening tests or programs that obviously save lives then they need to be done without insurance company interference.

[VTPatriot]

Why do humans think they should be entitled to live forever?
Not natures plan. One dies one born.

Go ahead hate me it doesn?t change the facts. Just makes you realize them.

PEACE TO ALL

[labrat9999]

I think this is absolutely rediculous!! Insurance companiey shouldn't be allowed sell policies that are called "medical insurance". Like any other type of product we buy there ought to be some truth in advertising laws, and labeling. Call it what it is "Breast Cancer Insurance", "Blood Test Insurance". This crap about insurance companies being able to put together policies that reduce the risk to them, trick the customer into thinking they might have insurance coverage, is just a crime.

[mom3204]

How dare that Doctor on CBS say, that if you have blood in the stool, you have cancer. What is wrong with him? He should retract his statement, he had to have scared most anyone who is waiting for a colonscopy ( including myself ) half to death himself. His statement was cruel and not right to say.

[displeased]

Gee... and somehow I thought the article would at least mention which states do NOT get an A--now we still don't know.....
Posted by harbinger19

There is a link in the center of the article that takes you to a PDF file.

[sambuddy]

My husband's familly has a high rate of deaths from colon cancer. His mother had colon ceancer before the age of 40. She was lucky and did not die at that time, but several other cancers developed. About 15 years later in 1971, she was again diagnosed with colon/rectal cancer, and was told her liver was cancerous and she had 6 months or less to live. Again, she beat this. But had a colostomy. No treatments. She lived another 20 years. She lost a kidney due to cancer. Again, cancer came. This time she went into surgery and never woke up. My husband was 33 when he was dignosed with colo/rectal cancer. He chose to have 3 treatments, then none. For a year and a half he was ok. Then he started hurting. After exploratorative surgery, they found a tumor wraped around his aorta. Inoperatable. He dies at the age of 36. My son was 36 when he was diagnosed with colo/rectal cancer. We had been told earlier that our children should have colonoscopies regularly after age18. My son worked in the health field, and was good about having his every 3 years as directed. His cancer came inbetween those 3 years. He lived 3 years. After having several surgeries and a illostomy. My husband's nephew died at age 23 due to colo/rectal cancer. My daughter has a colo..test every year. She has had several polops removed; one time they were precancerous. My youngest son has had several colo....test done. So far he is clean. But, his insurance has a large deductible, and at this time he cannot afford to get it done. This scares me to death. We will find a way. But, it should not be that hard, especially with so much family background. If I could be of any assistance in helping someone get the word out of how important it is to be tested, I would gladly do it. I am very active in Relay For Life, and the ACS. Please pray for my children.

[bobnjersey]

[My insurance company will not cover the procedure because it is considered routine. So much for the rankings. ]
[Posted by EAJMOM at 6:01 AM : Mar 6, 2009 ]

tell your doctor to change the classification of the reason for the test ... as diagnostic for the identification of cause due to symptoms.

[newmark3]

I am goingt to get checked

[mswolfestock]

Maybe things will change when people working for the insurance companies start dying of colon cancer. I can only hope.

My insurance was supposed to cover colonoscopies but I had to pay $350 out of pocket. That was adding insult to injury because I did not tolerate the procedure very well and my digestive system was messed up for weeks afterwards. I had to pay for that, too.

They'd beter develop some kind of blood test for detecting colon cancer - I will NEVER have another colonoscopy if I live to be 100. There is no history of any kind of cancer in my entire family - this was a total waste of time for me.

[highscorer9]

The saddest part about this story is that there was ZERO mention of the NON-INVASIVE stool-DNA test that became part of the ACS Guidelines last March. At last count, 12 states have included it in their screening guidelines. There is a company out there that is very close to producing a test that will be used by the masses, and will be more accurate than colonoscopy in detecting cancer.

The Hemoccult tests described above are a joke compared to this new test that is being developed.

NON-INVASIVE SCREENING IS ON ITS WAY!!!

[EAJMOM]

I live in Illinois, which is considered an A ranked state. My grandmother died of colon cancer, my father has polyps, and I am over the age of 50. My Dr ordered a routine colonascopy due to family history. My insurance company will not cover the procedure because it is considered routine. So much for the rankings.

[geneonlbk]

We, or at least those who we have elected to watch over us, have created the worst health care system money can buy. Why do the American sheeple not see that politics have become a tool for the corporations. We are told to vote along party lines by our churches and our mass media. My question is why on earth would anyone vote to keep a crook, and they are all crooks, in office more than a single term.

[harbinger19]

Gee... and somehow I thought the article would at least mention which states do NOT get an A--now we still don't know.....