Benefits | Colorectal Cancer Interventions

Health benefits to support colorectal cancer screening

Employee health benefits are part of an overall compensation package and affect an employee’s willingness to seek preventive services and clinical care.

Provide coverage for clinical preventive services such as colorectal cancer screening

• Colorectal cancer screening is a valuable early detection tool that can identify colorectal cancer at an early stage, when treatment is more effective and less expensive
• Full coverage of colorectal cancer screening is recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force
• Coverage should also include diagnostic follow-up (e.g., biopsies) and treatment
• Benefit packages should include personal reminders to employees regarding their due dates for screening
• Any cancer screening program must include a plan for following up men and women with a positive reading and referring them to clinical evaluation. It is an ethical standard widely accepted in the medical and public health community that screening programs should always be linked to a follow-up education, referral, and treatment plan

Require health plans to send reminders to both employee members and providers about colorectal cancer screening

• Employee and provider reminders tell people that it is time to schedule a colorectal cancer screening or that they are late (recall) for a recommended screening
• Employee reminders can be mailed as a letter or postcard or communicated as part of a telephone call
• Additional information about the health benefits of the screening, strategies to overcome barriers to screening and assistance with scheduling a screening test can also be included as part of the reminder