News
New Program Helps Remove Cost Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening at MRH&C
Posted 9/21/26 (Mon)
SDDOH Program Removes Cost Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening at MRH&C
If cost has kept you from getting screened for colorectal cancer, Mobridge Regional Hospital & Clinics (MRH&C) wants you to know: you have options.
Colorectal cancer screening is recommended for men and women at average risk starting at age 45. The out-of-pocket cost for a colonoscopy at MRH&C is $1,880 and a Cologuard Plus at-home test currently costs $599. For adults with insurance, preventive colorectal cancer screening is often completely covered, but for uninsured or underinsured adults, this potentially life-saving screening can feel financially out of reach.
Your provider and nurse can help you navigate which test is right for you and what each different test will cost. Colonoscopies are the preferred test for colorectal cancer because they not only detect cancer early but are used to remove pre-cancerous polyps and prevent the disease completely.
We are incredibly lucky to have four doctors performing colonoscopies locally at MRH&C: Josh Henderson, DO, FACP; Travis Henderson, MD, FACP; Clay Harper, MD, FACS; and Andrew Hoffman, MD, FACS. Average wait times for other health systems in North and South Dakota can range from 2 to 14 months. Our providers can often see patients within 2 weeks of the initial request.
Stool-based tests are a great second option if you and your provider decide that colonoscopy isn’t right for you. Blood-based tests are new to the market and not as accurate as stool-based tests but are still a much better option than no test at all.
It is important not to assume colorectal cancer screening is financially out of reach even if you lack health insurance. Mobridge Regional Hospital and Clinics has an internal financial assistance program to help with the cost of colonoscopies. Exact Sciences, the manufacturer of Cologuard, has a patient assistance program that helps eligible patients receive the test at little or no cost.
MRH&C is working with South Dakota Department of Health (SDDOH) to fill other financial gaps. If a Cologuard test finds something abnormal, the patient still needs a follow-up colonoscopy. That’s a real issue for uninsured or underinsured patients. Through the South Dakota Colorectal Cancer Control Program, MRH&C patients have access to resources that will cover the cost of that follow-up colonoscopy.
The program is available to eligible South Dakota residents who are average risk, have no colorectal cancer symptoms, and receive a positive or abnormal Cologuard result through MRH&C clinics in Mobridge, Selby, McLaughlin or Timber Lake. Other available insurance or payment sources are billed first; eligible services without another payment source can be reimbursed through the SDDOH.
It’s critically important not to wait until you have symptoms to seek care—both for your health and your wallet. Once you have symptoms, tests are considered diagnostic rather than screening. Cologuard tests are not recommended for patients with symptoms, and our partnership with SDDOH does not cover diagnostic colonoscopies. Talk to your primary care provider or nurse about colorectal cancer screening today. If barriers besides cost are keeping you from completing preventive cancer screening, ask them whether a referral to MRH&C’s Community Health Worker program would benefit you.