Schedule your mammogram: Preventive screenings could help detect early signs of breast cancer
UPMC Health Plan Member Services Update
Regular self-exams and preventive screenings can make a critical difference in the early detection of breast cancer. An annual clinical breast exam and regularly scheduled mammograms can often detect breast cancer in its earliest stages. Women should begin mammography screening at age 40. If there is a strong family history of breast cancer, your doctor may recommend starting at an earlier age. These are some of the reasons that UPMC Health Plan covers these types of preventive screenings at no cost to you.
My member services team and I recognize that scheduling these services can be a challenge for many of you because of your busy schedules. You also may have questions about insurance coverage or where to go for testing. I am excited to share that we are making it easy for you to schedule preventive testing.
How to schedule a mammogram appointment
First, if you call your Health Care Concierge about a health care or coverage matter and they notice you are due for a mammogram, our team will ask if you are interested in scheduling a screening and coordinate it for you during the call.
We also have a special hotline—1-877-851-5577—dedicated to quickly and conveniently scheduling and confirming your mammogram. To date, this hotline has taken more than 22,700 calls since February, with an answer time averaging only 20 seconds! Since late 2021, we have been helping to directly schedule members who call us, completed outreach to help schedule and have been addressing anyone who calls us for another reason to help them schedule a mammogram if they are due for one.
Details on how we can help you schedule your mammogram are also available on our online Breast Cancer Preventive Screening Resources page, which includes information on how often you should be examined, how to prepare for a mammogram, screening options, and insurance coverage information.
These efforts provide UPMC Health Plan members with access to nationally recognized, clinically leading breast cancer screening and diagnostic services from the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee-Womens Hospital and other in-network community providers. These services are built upon UPMC’s evidence-driven approach to care, shaped by academic medical research dedicated to breast cancer prevention and treatment.
If you have not scheduled or had a mammogram recently, or if you have any questions about coverage and access to any cancer-related or other preventive screenings, please reach out to a Health Care Concierge at 1-877-851-5577. You can also call us at number on the back of your ID card. We will get you the information and assistance you need.
