While annual cervical cancer screening services are decreasing in the Medicare population, more than 1.3 million older women received these services in 2019, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Jin Qin, ScD, and colleagues examined trends in cervical cancer screening services among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries (more than 15 million women aged 65-114 annually). The percentage of women who received at least one cytology or HPV test decreased from 18.9% in 1999 to 8.5% in 2019, and rates of colposcopy and cervical procedures decreased 43.2% and 64.4%, respectively. There was an average annual reduction in cytology or HPV testing of 4.6% from 1999 to 2019. In 2019, the total Medicare expenditure for all services was about $83.5 million. Approximately 3% of women older than 80 received at least one service in 2019, costing $7.4 million. “More than 1.3 million women in the Medicare fee for-service program recently received cervical cancer screening-associated services after age 65 years at substantial cost but of unclear clinical appropriateness,” Dr. Qin and colleagues wrote.
