There are many circumstance that may result in a home health or hospice agency deciding to outsource their private, Medicare, or Medicaid billing. A new agency may want to focus on the processes and care vs. billing at the launch of an agency.
A more established providers may be frustrated by staff turnover or lack of qualified and reliable billing staff. Sometimes, an agency may look to outsource billing on a short-term or emergency basis, to cover staff transitions or an unexpected illness on their billing team.
Whatever the catalyst, the decision to outsource billing is only the first in what should be an extensive evaluation process of options available to agencies. This eBook discusses 7 Key Factors that you should focus on as you begin your search, narrow your choices, and ultimately make a decision of a best fit billing company for your agency.
The 7 Factors
#1–Define the Need
Many resources start their list focused on the billing company. Before turning your attention to your search, a key step is to evaluate your agency’s specific needs. Taking the time to complete this step will eliminate hours, days, even weeks from your search process. You may be tempted to say “I just need someone to do the billing from now on,” but by focusing on the specifics of what services your agency needs, you can better identify those companies that can meet them.
Sit down with the key members of your staff or a trusted associate and map out the services you need.
Some services that vary by billing company:
Insurance Eligibility
Coding
Claim Submission
PPS Monitoring
Denial Management
Patient Accounting - Statements
Customized Reporting
Accounts Receivable Tracking
Historical Claims Tracking
Audits
Credentialing
Follow up Functions
Transfer to Collection Agency
Create a “Needs” guide using a document or spreadsheet editor. A spreadsheet is ideal as it allows you to list the needs of your agency in the first column and then track the services provided by the billing companies you research side by side:
#2-Do your Reseach
Contact your state or national associations to get recommendations of billing providers for your industry.
As you get a list, conduct qualifying phone calls
Years in business
Number of employees
Number of current clients
Capacity to take on new clients
Note: Balance experience, years in business, experience and number of current clients to what your needs are. A large national billing company may not provide the personalized service a new agency may require. Likewise, a well-respected regional company may not be a best fit for a large multi-state home health organization.
Request key metrics:
DSO – Says sales outstanding
Submission and follow-up delay metrics
Billing cycle metrics
Average A/R
Reduction of payment delays
#3-Industry Specific Experience
HOME HEALTH
HOSPICE
When you evaluate a billing company’s experience, you should ask specific questions regarding their home health and hospice billing experience. Experience with home health Medicare and Medicaid is critical for agencies that see these patients.
Key Questions to ask:
How many years of experience for my specialty?
What states have you successfully billed in (key for Medicaid)?
What private payors do you have experience with?
What type of practices or agencies do you have experience with (start-up, Medicare certified, private only, hospital, large franchise)?
It is also important to ask how the company’s staff stays up to date with terminology, regulations, HIPAA and other compliance issues.
Lastly, with ICD-10 looming, it is critical to make sure that not only is the billing company training their staff on the changes, but that the software and clearinghouse they use has been tested and passed for HIPAA 5010 compliance.
#4-Services Provided
Now that you have determined the billing company has the industry specific experience, use the “Needs” spreadsheet you created in Step #1 to identify which of the companies you are evaluating can address them.
It is likely that different companies offer different “levels” of service. By using the “Needs” sheet you and your team can see visually the top two or three companies that most closely align with your practice or agency’s billing needs.
#5-Technolgy
Technology compatibility is a key component when selecting a billing partner. Some companies will work with your current software, some require you to switch software, others simply have you export your information to them and they key it into their software.
If your practice or agency has software, and it fits your needs, it is important to find a company that will work with your software. This allows you constant access to the financials. You can monitor you’re A/R and address any issues as they arise.
If your agency is currently paper based, discuss with each of the companies the option for software for your agency. The billing company may have two or three vendors that they recommend from experience and client response.
If the billing company includes software with their billing package, evaluate the software as vigorously as you evaluate the company. Ask if the software is included at no charge, or if there is an additional fee or increase in percentage rate.
If your practice or agency is part of a hospital or larger organization, you will need the ability to communicate billing, receivables, and reporting information over your network. Ask the billing company how they will facilitate this.
#6-Pricing
There are usually three pricing models offered by billing companies:
Per Patient
Percentage
Per Claim
Each model has its advantages and disadvantages, so it is important that you evaluate what best meets the needs of your practice or agency with regards to budget, business models, and projected growth.
Per Patient
This fee-based model charges a fixed dollar rate per patient per month.
This model can be more cost effective as it is not tied to the amount collected, but can also provide less incentive for follow-up on denied claims.
With this model, forecasting billing as a budget item is easier as the cost is usually fixed.
Percentage
With the percentage model, the billing company collects on the total collections. Many see this as a win-win model as the success of the billing company is directly tied to the successful billing for the agency. A drawback is that potentially, a billing company will focus only on big claims when it comes to denial management vs. the smaller claims. However, reputable companies work to recover all of a clients monies.
Per Claim Rate
With this model, the billing company charges per claim for the submission.
There is no incentive for service to follow up on claims.
Denial management, collections, aging are additional charges.
#7-Terms
The last focus is on the terms for service. Ask to see a copy of the Terms & Agreement once you have narrowed the field.
Things to evaluate:
Upfront costs HIPAA Compliance
Length of contract Confidentiality
Renewal terms BAA Compliance
Additional Fees/Charges Support options
After focusing on these key areas, your agency should be able to successfully identify which home health billing company is a best fit for your agency.
For more outsource billing information, sign up for the CareSmart Billing blog at: CSB Blog
February is American Heart Month
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 600,000 Americans each year. And it’s why we devote the entire month of February to raising awareness of heart health. You should also know:
- Cardiovascular disease kills more people each year than cancer, lower respiratory diseases and accidents.
- Cigarette smokers are two to three times more likely to die from coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.
- Heart disease is the number one killer in women age 20 and over, killing approximately one woman every minute.
So what can you do to protect yourself from heart disease? While there are some risk factors you can’t control, such as age, gender, heredity, race and diabetes, there are risk factors for heart disease you CAN control, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, exercise, obesity and stress.
By eating a healthy diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and exercising regularly for at least 30 minutes each day, you can do wonders for your heart. Determine whether or not your weight is within a healthy range, don’t smoke and limit how much alcohol you drink. You should also talk with your health care provider about your heart care. Talk to him or her about monitoring your blood pressure, testing your cholesterol levels and regularly monitoring your blood sugar levels if you have diabetes.
And if you already take good care of your heart, then you can help fight heart disease by encouraging others to do the same. During the month of February, CareSmart Billing wants you to help spread the word about living a heart healthy lifestyle. Here are a few things you can do:
- Encourage your friends and co-workers to wear red on National Wear Red Day—Friday, February 1.
- Display table tents with heart facts and heart health information in your café, lobbies and office.
- Work with your Food Services department to offer a heart-healthy snack or meal on National Wear Red Day (Friday, February 1) or every Friday in February.
- Post flyers around your hospital or workplace to promote Heart Awareness month.
- Pass out red dress pins from AHA to friends, associates, patients and visitors.
- Host a heart health booth in your hospital or workplace on National Wear Red Day displaying heart health information, HeartScan brochures and other collateral.
- Turn your building red by using red light bulbs or adding red covers over the lights.
Join CareSmart Billing in celebrating Healthy Hearts!!
Home Health and Hospice agencies today are feeling the pressure of reduced or delayed payments as well as increased expenses. It is more important than ever that billing is done right the first time, every time.
Billing oversights can lead to denials and reduced cash flow. By knowing how to reduce errors in advance, you realize the far reaching benefits of improved accuracy, accelerated reimbursement and better patient outcomes. Here are some things to keep in mind when billing for home health:
Be sure to have complete and correct patient information.
Missing or inaccurate patient information will cause claim denials. Billers should make sure that the patient insurance number is in the correct location, the admission source/referral is correct and the patient status is 30.
The diagnosis code must be valid.
Do not use codes that are marked “invalid.” Billers should keep up to date on the new diagnosis codes as they are released every October. It is also important to choose the correct code for the patient type. For example, you want to be sure you don’t use pediatric codes for adults.
The correct address must be entered to calculate the correct CBSA code for maximum reimbursement.
You need to be sure the correct county and zip codes are entered. Please note the address date cannot be after the admission date.
The correct attending physician and NPI must be entered.
You must enter the physician’s full name and correct NPI number. Each of your physicians must have an NPI number.
Review your denials.
One of the best ways to educate yourself is to review your denials, keeping track of your most common denial reasons. Use this list to create a checklist that you will use to review every claim submission.
Are You Experiencing Billing Errors? We Can Help.
Billing is one of the greatest drains on home health and hospice agencies. It takes up valuable time and requires highly skilled employees that are often hard to find and even harder to keep.
CareSmart Billing home health and hospice billing experts can help relieve the administrative and technical burdens of in-house billing at a highly competitive price. Their sole focus is on home health and hospice billing and they receive continual education on regulations, rules and best practices. As a result of this experience and education, you will have fewer denied and rejected claims, allowing you to get paid more quickly and accurately.
For more information about CareSmart Billing Services, click here.
On Wednesday, December 19, 2012, CMS hosted a special Open Door Forum for hospice providers. The transcript is now available for reference.
The topics included updates about the upcoming availability of the data submission website for hospice quality reporting, information about how to access the data submission website and how to create a user account, details about the data submission process and a Question and Answer session.
CMS posted the link to the hospice quality reporting program data entry and submission Web site, on the CMS Web site. This link will be located on the hospice quality reporting data submission page in the related links section at the bottom of that page. This link will allow users to begin registration prior to the January 1st start date for hospice quality reporting.
User account creation was an important focus to emphasize the registration that there is only one user account allowed per hospice CCN or provider number.
Any registration of a hospice user account for a specific hospice CCN is only for the actual live or “production” data entry and submission. This means: do not register for a user account if you do not intend to complete data entry, submission and attestation tasks for your specific hospice provider. Also, do not register for casual viewing purposes as this will directly impact
your hospice’s ability to register a user who will actually submit hospice quality reporting data.
Again, there is only one user account per CCN allowed for the submission of all the reporting program data for both the structural QAPI measure and the NQF #0209 Pain Measure. Data entry and submission should be available throughout both submission periods to complete the submission for the structural measure by January 31st 2013 and the pain measure data by April 1st 2013.
The Hospice Quality Reporting Program Data Entry and Submission WebEx recording and training slides are now available on the Hospice Training page of the QTSO website, https://www.qtso.com.
No registration is required to view the WebEx; Hospice providers can view the recorded WebEx at their convenience and as many times as needed until April 2013. Hospices can access the WebEx via:https://www.qtso.com/hospicetrain.html.
The Hospice Quality Reporting Program Data Entry and Submission WebEx demonstrates how to:
- Access the Hospice Quality Reporting Program Data Entry and Submission link
- Register your Hospice Provider and establish a User Account
- Navigate the Structural Measure data entry, submission and attestation
- Navigate the NQF #0209 Pain Measure data entry, submission and attestation
In addition, the recorded WebEx covers:
- Requirements for current and future reporting
- Data Collection Help Desk Support
- Technical Help Desk Support
For the Hospice Quality Reporting Program requirements affecting the FY 2014 payment determination, hospices will submit two measures: The Structural/QAPI measure and the NQF #0209 measure. The data collection period for both measures is Oct 1-Dec 31, 2012. The structural measure must be submitted by January 31, 2013 and the NQF #0209 by April 1, 2013.
CareSmart Billing, provides comprehensive billing solutions for home health and hospice.
Looking for software or billing solutions for your home health or hospice agency?
Check out CareSmart AMS, EDI Smart Reader, Data Smart Online Backup and CareSmart Billing.
Choosing a New Billing Partner
There are many reputable billing companies out there, and many that are not. The most important thing to remember when going through this process is: “Will this be a good fit for my business?” By good fit, I mean: Does the company you are looking at manage businesses your size, well? Does the contract say exactly what they will do? I.e. Work the claims from beginning to end? Once you have narrowed down your options, here are some other very important questions to ask yourself and your potential new billing company:
1. What is your rate? Although this is a very important question, and you must know this in order to move forward with the conversation. Keep in mind that if a company is going to provide you with extraordinary service, the extra 1 percent might just get you to a much better place with your business, and well worth it. The billing company might charge by census. This may seem to be the obvious choice because of a lower up-front cost, but be cautious, you could LOSE money in the end. Keep an open mind and talk through it to understand what is in YOUR best interest.
2. Do I have a designated representative that I can talk to and will they work on my accounts consistently? The answer should be “Yes.” With the insurance industry as volatile as it is, accounts can get really messy and it’s important that you have the same people working on your accounts. This creates continuity and, remember, this new billing team should be an extension of your business.
3. How do you handle payment denials and delays? This should be an easy one; the answer should be “quickly and efficiently.” They should be asking for items from your staff which might include: copy of health card, RX, DX, copy of initial evaluation, chart notes, etc., every week, if not more often. The quicker you can get these items to them, the quicker they can appeal. We know that some unsavory insurance companies will deny up front in order to delay payment. A good billing company knows who these insurance companies are and can help you get paid on those much quicker.
4. Who keeps track of my business statistics and analysis? This answer should be you, along with your billing company. You are ultimately responsible for your bottom line. However, a good and reputable billing company will have this information available to you on a daily basis through a website or portal. It is very important to know how to access your daily A/R, and if this is not provided, I would certainly call this a red-flag. They should also have business analysis individuals who can help answer any questions you may have, and be happy to do so.
Ask around to your colleagues and see who they are using, if they are successful, and what they do and do not like about their billing company. But always be sure it is a good fit for you. If you do not feel they will get the job done the way you need it done, then move along.
es to focus on patient care and business growth.
CareSmart Billing, provides comprehensive billing solutions for home health and hospice.
Looking for software or billing solutions for your home health or hospice agency?
Check out CareSmart AMS, EDI Smart Reader, Data Smart Online Backup and CareSmart Billing.
The Benefits of Outsourcing:
According to numerous surveys, home health and hospice administrators claim that payment collection for services rendered is quickly becoming one of the most important issues they face today. An overly complex system of rules, regulations and participants has forced many agencies to invest considerable time and resources to payment collection. Managing the vast amount of paperwork related to billing, contacting patients regarding payment, and following up on unpaid claims from insurance companies has become one of the most distressing and time-consuming aspects of a administrators daily routine.
In an effort to reduce the burden, home health and hospice agencies ultimately make one of two choices: build internal agencies billing capabilities at considerable expense or outsource billing related functions to a third party billing company.
Internal billing or, in-house billing, may appear to be an attractive alternative given the control issues associated with outsourcing, however close examination reveals limited results and higher costs in comparison to outsourced billing. These costs are not limited to the direct costs associated with staffing the internal billing organization and include costs related to management, turnover, training and growth. Additionally the in-house billing model provides limited incentive for performance as salaries are paid regardless of payment received for services rendered or timely payment from date of service.
Outsourced billing on the other hand is typically the more attractive alternative given the direct incentive to perform as most outsourced billing companies are compensated as a percentage of collections. This payment scheme motivates the vendor who is 100 percent dedicated to the billing process to maximize reimbursement for the practice. Additionally, these fees are typically less than the cost of hiring staff given the economies of scale related to larger organization and the shared cost of technology.
In addition, as government and insurance carrier rules and requirements change agenices dedicate additional time and resources to staying abreast and adapting when required. Billing companies dedicate considerable resources to monitoring these changes and training their staff on how these changes will affect collections.
Lastly, third party medical billing companies typically provide practices a lower number of days in accounts receivable (the number of days required to convert billings into payment) in comparison to in-house billing staff.
Third party billing companies benefit from the knowledge of working for multiple agencies and when errors are discovered in one agency, the knowledge from that error can be applied across the client base as a whole.
Outsourcing your home health and hospice billing to an outside professional service provider is often the most cost effect and highest income generating choice for agencies. With Claim submission and payment collection in the hands of a well qualified vendor, agencies have more time and resources to focus on patient care and business growth.
CareSmart Billing, provides comprehensive billing solutions for home health and hospice.
Looking for software or billing solutions for your home health or hospice agency?
Check out CareSmart AMS, EDI Smart Reader, Data Smart Online Backup and CareSmart Billing.
Home health claims paid by Medicare or any other insurance company utilizing Medicare criteria for processing claims are processed in 60-day episodes of care based on a home health prospective payment system (HH PPS). This system uses a classification system called home health resource groups (HHRGs) that range in severity level to establish HH PPS reimbursement rates for each episode. Medicare has established a weight value for each HHRG to associate the weight value, which determines Medicare’s payment. HHRG’s are reported to Medicare per patient on the claim form using the health insurance prospective payment system code set(HIPPS). HIPPS codes are five digit alphanumeric codes that represent case-mix groups about payments. HIPPS are determined based on the patient assessment using Outcomes and Assessment Information Set (OASIS).
Under the HH PPS system, Medicare pays claims for beneficiary based on the health condition of the patient, or clinical assessment, the service needs the beneficiary is referred, and possibly special outlier provisions.
Home Health Prospective Payment is composed of the below five components:
Payment for the 60-day Episode
- The payments for care under the HH PPS are for each 60-day episode of care. The agency bills Medicare the initial claim once the case mix is assigned. The claim is then billed as a Request for Anticipated Payment (RAP). This claim is developed at the beginning of the episode. The initial RAP claim can be generated once the initial order for home health care is on file, the physician order has been mailed, and the OASIS has been completed during the first visit. Once the RAP is billed, the agency will receive a percentage of the payment for full estimated episode. The exception to this claim is for episodes of care that have four or less visits. These claims are filed as low utilization payment adjustments (LUPA).
Case mix adjustments
- The order for home health plan care are given to the agency by the prescribing physician then the agency assesses the patient’s condition and orders a plan of treatment at the beginning of the episode. A nurse or therapist from the admitting agency determines the plan of treatment. Each patient has an OASIS to assess the patient’s condition and expected needs, which are used by Medicare in establishing the case, mix adjustment for payment rates. There are over 80 case mix groups or HHRGs available for agency to determine patient classification.
Outlier payments
- Some payments may be in addition to the 60-day case mix episode of care for patients who usually incur large costs. Outlier payments are imputed for patients whose cost exceeds a threshold amount for each case mix group. The amount of the outlier payment is a proportion of the amount of imputed costs beyond the threshold. Outlier costs are imputed for each episode by applying standard per-visit amounts to the number of visits by discipline (skilled nursing visits, or physical, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, or home health aide services) reported on the claims.
Adjustments for beneficiaries who require only a few visits during the 60-day episode
- Medicare has a partial payment adjustment, which are used for patients whose episode of care consists of four or less visits. The episodes are paid the service per visit rate. The payments are labeled as Low utilization payment adjustments(LUPA).
Beneficiaries who change HHAs
- An agency is partially paid for patients transfer to another agency or is readmitted within the 60-day episode of care. The partial episode payment (PEP) allows one 60-day episode of care and another one to begin despite the fact that the initial 60-day episode was not completed. The original 60-day episode payment is proportionally adjusted to reflect the length of time the beneficiary remained under the agency's care before the intervening event. The new episode is paid an initial episode payment of one-half of the new case mix group, or HHRG, and the 60-day clock is restarted.
Each agency is required to submit the required data for payments of each episode of care. The data required for HH PPS is the OASIS and agencies not reporting accurate OASIS data will result in improper Medicare payment delays or denied claims. Prior to submitting data for OASIS, ensure the episodes of care are complete, accurate, and contain detailed information for enhanced payments. OASIS data can consume a great deal of clinician time however, inaccurate data can result in lower payments.
CareSmart Billing, provides comprehensive billing solutions for home health and hospice.
Looking for software or billing solutions for your home health or hospice agency?
Check out CareSmart AMS, EDI Smart Reader, Data Smart Online Backup and CareSmart Billing.
Did you know that all insurance companies have “stall tactics” to keep from paying claims in a timely manner? Insurance companies want to make you work even harder to reimburse your agency for the services that have already been provided! When you send the claim they have staff to review the claim for errors to send it back denied, creating additional work for your staff and increasing reimbursement time. Why not avoid that administrative denial?
Insurance companies have edits and checks set up to automatically reject claims. Some of these edits include name error, date of birth incorrect, and diagnosis code error. These are the typical errors to you but to the insurance company they are “stall tactics” to allow more time to pay. These will cause the agency to have reimbursement delayed due to poor attention to insurance filing requirements. Now more than ever, agencies need to pay close attention to detail to reduce administrative costs and decrease claims payment time.
Here are 3 tips to help you avoid or lessen the impact of “stall tactics”:
1. Stay Current on Changes - Home Health agencies should pay close attention to the current emails coming out from the government payers. The payers are the drivers behind the reimbursement. Stay in constant communication with them by email or conference. Staff members should always be on the payer mailing list to receive all the up to date information on all the billing requirements and change as they happen. This action will limit the impact changes can have on the cash flow for your organization.
2. Denial Management - Management should note some of the common patterns of specific denials if they continue to come back several times. The goal of the relationship between the insurance company and the agency typically works to get the agency paid as quickly as possible. If you notice the insurance company has denied several claims, the agency may want to try and trend the denials to determine if they are a pattern of erroneously incorrect denials or claims submitted inappropriately.
3. Best Practices - There should be an internal pre-bill audit on a certain percentage of charts before they are billed to ensure errors are identified prior to them being denied by the payer. A great tool for your agency is to implement a “best practice guide” for all staff. Encourage both your clinical and clerical staff to take a team approach at all levels, double checking their workbefore submitting. This will drastically reduce the number of errors made before submitting for billing. Use visuals and/or graphs to trend errors and post in an area that everyone can see and review. This allows the staff to be informed and take ownership of what needs to improve. This can also help management identify what areas need re-training and to develop improvement strategies.
The first concern should always be to ensure the patient is receiving quality care but, the agency has to also make sure they are getting reimbursement for the services provided. The financial staff is responsible to ensure timely payment is made for the services provided. If you minimize the denials you can maximize your reimbursement!
CareSmart Billing, provides comprehensive billing solutions for home health and hospice.
Looking for software or billing solutions for your home health or hospice agency?
Check out CareSmart AMS, EDI Smart Reader, Data Smart Online Backup and CareSmart Billing.
Develop Your ICD-10 Communication and Awareness Plan
Although the final rule on the proposed ICD-10 deadline change has not yet been published, it's important to continue planning for the transition to ICD-10. A critical step in planning is to build organizational awareness and to develop a communication plan.
A communication and awareness plan ensures that all your employees and other internal departments as well as external business partners understand their roles and responsibilities for ICD-10 implementation. Think of this communication plan as a formal roadmap for communicating about ICD-10 throughout the transition. A plan is particularly important in larger organizations where you work with many different people and departments that may affect your successful transition to ICD-10. But it can be just as important in a small practice that everyone knows what, why, and how the transition will happen.
Your communication plan should identify:
- Project purpose – Provide ICD-10 background information and clearly describe the current state of ICD-10 progress in your organization, identify goals for the communication and awareness plan, and explain the purpose and expected outcomes of the transition.
- Partners – Identify all parties involved in your ICD-10 transition. For internal staff, you will need to establish a process to communicate governance issues to leaders and assess staff training needs. Coordinate with external groups such as vendors, clearinghouses, and state agencies about implementation updates and changes required in your systems and business processes.
- Messages – Be clear and consistent about what you say, focusing on specific steps and actions that need to happen for the ICD-10 transition.
- Issues – Outline your organization's protocol for identifying potential implementation issues and provide a plan for correcting them.
- Roles and responsibilities – Assign and clearly define communication roles and responsibilities to everyone involved in the transition.
- Timelines – Identify project milestones, secondary tasks, and deadlines. Be certain all project teams know what they will need to do. Develop back-up plans for each milestone to help you handle potential problems.
- Communication methods – Think about how to best communicate within your organization. Emails, in-person meetings, and conference calls may all be effective, but some might work better for different staff and divisions.
While the size of your organization will determine how much planning and documentation will be necessary for the ICD-10 transition, it is always important to keep the lines of communication open. This will help to foster trust among staff members and show that your organization is taking steps to implement ICD-10.
Keep Up to Date on ICD-10:
Please visit the ICD-10 website for the latest news and resources to help you prepare.
CareSmart Billing, provides comprehensive billing solutions for home health and hospice.
Looking for software or billing solutions for your home health or hospice agency?
Check out CareSmart AMS, EDI Smart Reader, Data Smart Online Backup and CareSmart Billing.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
SPMG strives to create awareness for many diseases that affect the lives of Older Americans and their families in hopes we can find ways to treat and prevent them. Be sure to take a look at our national portal site, Spot55.com, which will be posting informative stories on detecting breast cancer.
Facts about Breast Cancer:
- About 1 in 8 U.S. women (just under 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
- From 1999 to 2005, breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. decreased by about 2% per year. The decrease was seen only in women aged 50 and older. One theory is that this decrease was partially due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study called the Women’s Health Initiative were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk.
- About 39,520 women in the U.S. were expected to die in 2011 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990 — especially in women under 50. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
- For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.
- Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. Just under 30% of cancers in women are breast cancers.
- In 2011, there were more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the US.
- A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 15% of women who get breast cancer have a family member diagnosed with it.
- About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic mutations that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.
- The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are gender (being a woman) and age (growing older).
Source: Breastcancer.org
CareSmart Billing supports Breast Care Awareness Month!