U.S. Change in Mammogram Policy A First Step in Healthcare Reform? November 18, 2009

A government panel unexpectedly raised the recommended age from 40 to 50 for women to undergo a mammogram, and then continue every two years. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued the startling recommendation, which was quickly rejected by the American Cancer Society. The ACS continues to recommend that women receive their first mammogram at age 40 and continue routine testing annually. Despite the task force’s recommendations, which have no legal bearing on health care policy, concern is building over the potential for health insurance companies to deny coverage for mammograms. The financial savings realized by the new guidelines would be a windfall for health insurance companies, who again put their finances ahead of your health.

With heavy negotiations going on behind the scenes to push the health care bill through, I have to question the reasons behind the issuance of the new recommendations and wonder if this is part of the cost saving measures that will be needed to get this bill passed. There is no questions that the current guidelines save lives but the government belives that they don’t save enough lives to justify the cost! Any change will result in more cancer diagnosis at a later stage, making them more difficult to treat successfully, not to mention the difficulty women will have in obtaining authorization for the examination. I’m curious if the doctors who claim that they practice “defensive medicine” will adhere to the new recommendations or continue to order annual mammograms for women over 40? For the public sake, lets hope that they continue to follow the American Cancer Society guidelines.

Frank Dito is a New York Personal Injury attorney specializing in New York real estate law , New York business law, and New York franchise law. You can visit his Law Firm Decker, Decker, Dito and Internicola website by clicking here, download his FREE New York Car Insurance book, or call him at 718-979-4300 or 1-800-310-5520 for a free case analysis.

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