Uninsured women not getting regular Pap smears

One-fourth of uninsured U.S. women between the ages of 18-64 reported not having had a Pap smear within the last three years when surveyed in 2005, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

This was double the 11 percent rate for women with private insurance and more than the 15 percent rate for women covered by Medicaid or any other public insurance.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which is sponsored by AHRQ, recommends that women from ages 21-64 receive a Pap smear screening every three years to detect cervical cancer and abnormal cells that can develop into cancer.

AHRQ data also shows that:

• Overall, 14 percent of U.S. women age 18 to 64 – with or without insurance – did not receive a Pap smear within the last three years.
• Asian women are more than twice as likely (21.5 percent ) to have not received a Pap smear in last three years than African American women (10 percent). White and Hispanic women fall in between (13.5 percent and 16 percent, respectively)
• Women age 50-64 are nearly twice as likely (17 percent) to have not received a Pap smear compared to women ages 30-39 (9 percent). For women age 40-49 the rate is about 12 percent.

AHRQ, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, works to enhance the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care in the United States. The data in this AHRQ News and Numbers summary are taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a highly detailed source of information on the health services used by Americans, how frequently they use them, the cost of those services, and how they are paid.

http://www.ahrq.gov/