February 23, 2001

MEDI -923 -01

TO: ALL MEDICARE PROVIDERS

SUBJECT: COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING

PRIMARY INTERESTS: BUSINESS OFFICE MANAGERS, MEDICAL DIRECTORS

The Health Care Financing Administration has asked Medicare contractors to publish the following information.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The estimates for new cases and deaths from CRC in 2001 are 135,400 and 56,700 respectively. However, CRC is one of the most preventable cancers, as well as one of the most curable cancers when detected at an early stage.

Despite the advantages of CRC screening and the fact that Medicare covers CRC screening tests, utilization of this benefit is low. When testifying before the Special Committee on Aging in March 2000, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reported that in 1999, only 14.1 percent of Medicare beneficiaries had one or more of the covered CRC services for screening or diagnostic purposes. The utilization rate had changed little from the 1995 rate of 13.6 percent.

Since implementation of Medicare’s CRC screening benefit, HCFA has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to increase CRC screening within the Medicare population. Together CDC, HCFA, and NCI carry out the Screen for Life (SFL) campaign, which informs men and women aged 50 years and older—the group most at risk—about the importance of CRC screening for early detection and prevention of the disease.

Last year Congress designated March as National CRC Awareness Month. HCFA joins numerous agencies and organizations in a campaign during the month of March to bring the public’s attention to the seriousness of CRC and its prevention.

The SFL campaign has developed numerous materials which help inform Medicare beneficiaries about the importance of screening. The attachment lists print materials that can be ordered free of charge or can be downloaded from the Internet, as well as ordering instructions.

Materials that are available include:

• "Good News" Poster (4 versions) targeting Caucasian, African-American, Asian-American, and Hispanic audiences, with tear-off cards that beneficiaries can take on visits to their doctors (stresses the importance of screening, mentions Medicare coverage);
• "No Symptoms" poster (points out that CRC often starts with no symptoms);
• "Let’s Break the Silence" CRC brochures (English and Spanish versions);
• "Colorectal Cancer – Facts on Screening" (for patients); and
• "Colorectal Cancer – Health Professionals Facts on Screening."

In addition, other types of materials such as camera-ready slicks, television public service announcements (PSAs), and radio PSAs are available. Copies may be ordered from the CDC Internet site. (See directions in Attachment .)

Providers are encouraged to discuss CRC screening with their patients. Research conducted to support the National CRC Awareness Month Campaign found that nearly half of survey respondents who were 50 years of age or older reported that their doctors did not discuss CRC screening with them. However, 9 out of 10 survey respondents reported that they underwent the CRC screening tests that were recommended by their physicians.

THIS BULLETIN SHOULD BE SHARED WITH ALL MANAGERIAL MEMBERS OF THE PROVIDER STAFF. NO COST COPIES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM OUR WEB SITE AT riverbendgba.com

Please refer any questions to our office toll free at 877-296-6189.

- Fax: 410-786-4786

- E-Mail: LBeasley@HCFA.gov

- Phone: Larry Beasley (410-786-7843)

- Fax: 410-786-1905

- E-Mail: STaylor@HCFA.gov

- Phone: Susie Taylor (410-786-7849)

- See information from the chart that follows for ordering or downloading "Let’s Break the Silence" brochures from the HCFA Internet site.

- Visit the Internet site at: http://www.cdc.gov./cancer/screenforlife,

- Call 1-888-842-6355, or

- Write cancerinfo@cdc.gov.

- In addition, other types of materials such as camera ready slicks, television PSAs, and radio PSAs, which are not listed on the table that follows, can be ordered from the CDC Internet site.

- Visit the CDC Internet site at: http://www.cdc.gov./cancer/screenforlife