Newspapers across the country featured front-page follow-up stories on new mammogram recommendations today.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force -- "which recommended that women in their 40s should no longer get annual mammograms to screen for breast cancer -- sparked an outcry from those who say that the federal government is more interested in saving money than in improving women's health, even though the panel did not consider costs in its analysis," the Los Angeles Times reports. "Some Republicans jumped on the report as the kind of government intervention in medical decisions that Obama's healthcare plan would bring," calling it a "first step" towards rationing care.
"The uproar also provided a likely preview of future battles. A potentially revolutionary improvement in the medical system would almost certainly bring controversy, confusion and uncertainty along with it. Proposed changes to standard medical procedures, even when supported by scientific evidence, almost always challenge someone's expertise and someone's bottom line. And even the most careful scientific evaluations cannot always provide definitive answers on what works best for all patients." But experts say "that leaving the decisions to the marketplace -- as the U.S. healthcare system has done for decades -- has not produced very good results, even for patients" (Levey, 11/18).
The Washington Post: "Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) announced Tuesday that his House health subcommittee will hold hearings on the mammogram issue next month. Other lawmakers from both parties suggested that the task force had been swayed by insurance companies that stand to save money if fewer screenings are performed." It is unclear, however, what the impact of the new guidelines will be in practice. "Forty-nine states require insurers to cover screenings for women 40 and older; Medicare also pays for the procedure… But critics note that under legislation pending in Congress, the panel's guidelines could be used to set standards for what insurance companies would be required to cover" (Eggen and Stein, 11/18).