(lively music)
[Narrator]- Minnesota's Sage program saves women's lives.
Really, it does.
And it's easy to get it up and running in your clinic.
Before you welcome patients into the program,
it's important to understand who the program can help.
Sage is a program for Minnesota women,
ages 40 to 64 who are uninsured or underinsured
and meet specific income guidelines.
How do women figure out if they're eligible?
Some just call the Sage Patient Navigation Center and ask.
Our navigators assist callers in any language
and if they turn out to be eligible,
will help book a screening
at a partner clinic right away.
And clinics can screen women for eligibility themselves.
All they have to do is ask patients a few questions.
First question, is the patient a woman?
The answer has to be yes.
Men aren't eligible for Sage services.
Breast cancer in men is rare
and men with symptoms should see a doctor.
Question two.
Does the patient live in Minnesota?
To qualify for Sage, she must.
The program serves Minnesota women statewide.
Every state has a screening program like Sage.
Women who live outside of Minnesota
should contact Sage's Navigation Center
to be referred to their state's program.
Question three.
Is the patient between ages 40 and 64?
That's the age span Sage screening usually covers
because women younger
than 40 generally face lower cancer risk.
There is an exception to this age limit though.
If a woman under 40 has breast symptoms
or a family history of breast cancer,
Sage will cover her screening
and any necessary follow-up.
Medicare usually covers women 65 and older,
so Sage doesn't pay for their services.
Question four.
Is the patient underinsured or uninsured?
If a woman doesn't have insurance
or has insurance with copays or deductibles,
Sage can help.
If she has Medical Assistance,
her insurance covers screenings.
Women who aren't sure of their status
can need help connecting to a clinic
can always call Sage for help.
Question five.
Is the patient's income within program limits?
Figuring this out is straightforward.
Patients report their household income
and the number of family members they support
on Sage forms.
They don't need to show pay stubs,
tax returns or any other proof of income.
If the household income
is less than 250% of the Federal Poverty Level,
the woman qualifies.
Pure and simple.
Women who are self-employed, farmers, for instance,
or house cleaners, should report their income
after business expenses.
Here's a look at the 2020 guidelines.
The income limits do change every year but not by a lot.
And Sage usually announces
the new guidelines every February.
You can always find the latest information
on the Sage website.
So now we know who's eligible.
Let's look at exactly what Sage provides.
It covers breast cancer screenings,
which include yearly mammograms,
cervical cancer screenings,
which include Pap tests every three years
or every five years if the provider does HPV co-testing.
If an eligible woman is a new patient at your clinic,
Sage will cover her Pap or HPV tests regardless
of the date of her last test.
Sage covers more frequent resting for women
who's had abnormal Pap results in the past.
And of course, Sage covers follow-up diagnostic tests.
What kinds of diagnostic services does Sage cover?
Almost anything needed to rule in or out a breast
or cervical cancer.
It covers office visits to go over abnormal results.
Follow-up mammograms and breast ultrasounds.
Breast biopsies, whether they're fine needle,
stereotactic or excisional biopsies
and the pathology necessary to analyze them.
It also covers follow-up cervical tests,
a colposcopy, for example,
and when Pap results show it's necessary,
an endometrial biopsy.
Other services are sometimes covered when necessary
to detect a cancer.
If you're wondering if something is covered, just ask
and keep in mind, clinics can enroll women
for these services even if they didn't come
to Sage for their initial screening.
Remember, Sage is about breast
and cervical cancer screening,
so it can't cover every medical service a woman might need.
It's up to the clinics to check the Sage Provider Manual
and to tell patients whether a recommended service
isn't covered by Sage.
Patients must agree to pay
for the uncovered services prior to receiving them.
Also for Sage, services,
clinics must accept Sage rates
and not bill patients for the difference.
Any questions?
Just call the Sage program.
Thanks for taking the time
to understand Sage eligibility.
Protecting women from cancer requires all of our efforts.
We're grateful to you
for joining us in saving women's lives.
(tranquil music)