In the past, too many Pennsylvania women lost their battle against breast or cervical cancer because they didn\u2019t have the money for proper treatment.
\nA single trip to the gynecologist sure can be expensive. A regular examination can cost up to $100 and requesting a mammogram and PAP smear can push the total bill well over $300.
\nToday in Pennsylvania, women of low or moderate income, diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer or a pre-cancerous condition of the breast or cervix, can get quality care and treatment, regardless of their lack of insurance.
\n\u201cThe Healthy WomanProject targets women of need in the sense that they don\u2019t have the proper insurance coverage or are just under-insured for doctor visits that are necessary in a woman\u2019s lifestyle,\u201d said Denise Kay, nurse practitioner at Dr. Thomas O\u2019Brien\u2019s office in Tyrone. \u201cNow, women that normally couldn\u2019t afford the services have a new option. It\u2019s a great program that needs to be taken advantage of.\u201d
\nAccording to Kay, the program is open to all low- to moderate-level income women aged 40 through 64. She said women who reach the age of 65 are, for the most part, covered through Medicaid.
\n\u201cThe idea of the program is to take women through the whole process,\u201d said Kay. \u201cWe\u2019ll start with a regular examination then progress to a pap smear and mammogram. The Healthy WomanProject pays for these steps, and also goes a little further.
\n\u201cIf any further testing is needed, the program will also cover those costs,\u201d she said.
\nKay said the income guidelines for women to qualify are \u201crather generous.\u201d
\n\u201cThe guidelines are much more generous than they are for Medicaid,\u201d said Kay. \u201cMedicaid sets it standards as compared to the poverty level. But the Healthy WomanProject standards are 250 percent more than that. It makes it easier for women to qualify.\u201d
\nThe program is new to Tyrone and surrounding communities. Kay said those wishing to partake in the program can express interest when making an appointment.
\n\u201cIt really only takes about two seconds to get the ball rolling,\u201d said Kay. \u201cThere\u2019s no extensive paperwork that needs filled out or an involved screening process. If a woman comes in and says she can\u2019t afford the costs associated with the examination, we\u2019ll work as hard as we can with her to allow her to be involved in the program.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re not going to ask for a bunch of paperwork or proof of income,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just need to make sure the woman is healthy.\u201d
\nAccording to Kay, she and the others who work in the office hope the program just brings more people through the door.
\n\u201cOnce they get here, we can find out what\u2019s going on,\u201d said Kay. \u201cMaybe they come for just an examination or smear or breast exam, but they might have others problems that may need addressed. Maybe they just need someone to talk to about something. That\u2019s what we\u2019re here for.\u201d
\nThe office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To schedule an appointment, contact 684-3635,
\n\u201cThis is really a very, very good program,\u201d said Kay. \u201cNow there\u2019s one less reason for people to say \u2018I can\u2019t go to my gynecologist\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the past, too many Pennsylvania women lost their battle against breast or cervical cancer because they didn\u2019t have the money for proper treatment. A single trip to the gynecologist sure can be expensive. A regular examination can cost up to $100 and requesting a mammogram and PAP smear can push the total bill well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47286\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}