Patients and Providers: Women at Risk of Losing Mammography Insurance Coverage

If Congress does not act, millions of women may lose insurance coverage for annual mammograms. Patient groups, minority health care advocates and breast cancer experts are urging Congress to extend a federal mandate that effectively requires insurers to fully cover annual screeningmammograms for women ages 40 and older.*“For many women, a loss of insurance coverage for mammography effectively denies them access to a tool that could save their lives. Congress can’t let this happen,” said Sarah Storey, president ofBright Pink. "Black women have a higher incidence of breast cancer before age 40. They are also 42 percent more likely to die from the disease. Early prevention is key! Without this mandate, Black women's lives are at risk," said Linda Goler Blount, president and chief executive officer of theBlack Women's Health Imperative.“We don’t want to see a day where women are not covered for mammograms until age 50 and then only every other year. If we do, late-stage breast cancer diagnoses will rise and breast cancer deaths will increase,” said Carolyn Aldigé, president and founder of thePrevent Cancer Foundation. Due to end Dec. 31, 2017, a federal statute bars insurers from basing coverage decisions on recent US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) breast cancer screening recommendations. In 2016, the USPSTF advised against routine screening in women for 40-49 and 74 and older. The Task Force encouraged only biennial screening f...
Source: American College of Radiology - Category: Radiology Source Type: news