ACR: Don't add USPSTF guidance to reform

"A great many women" will die unnecessarily from breast cancer if the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's (USPSTF) recommendations regarding mammography screening are included in healthcare reform legislation, according to the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI), both of Reston, VA.

On November 17, the USPSTF recommended that breast cancer screening begin at age 50, rather than 40, and that it be performed biennially. Senate healthcare reform legislation contains language that stipulates that private insurers, as well as Medicare and Medicaid, would be required to cover services that receive a specific grade from the USPSTF. This course of action would be disastrous, ACR and SBI said in a statement.

"Congress needs to act to specifically protect annual mammography coverage for women ages 40 and older and for high-risk women under 40 as recommended by their physician," said Dr. James Thrall, chair of the ACR's Board of Chancellors. "If the cost-cutting USPSTF mammography recommendations are not excluded from healthcare reform legislation, the government or private insurers would be permitted to refuse women coverage for this life-saving exam, turning back the clock on two decades of advances against the nation's second leading cancer killer."

The societies' statement emphasized that the USPSTF panel does not include a radiologist, oncologist, breast surgeon, or any other clinician with expertise in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. As such, Congress should exclude the USPSTF guidelines from healthcare legislation and make changes to the task force membership and operating process that will guard against such unacceptable recommendations moving forward, according to Dr. W. Phil Evans, president of the SBI.

The USPSTF is a panel funded and staffed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) of 2008 gave the HHS the authority to consider USPSTF recommendations in Medicare coverage determinations. Private insurers may also incorporate the USPSTF recommendations as a cost-savings measure, according to the ACR and SBI.

Related Reading

Burden of proof: Breast cancer changes fall short, November 23, 2009

Breast guidelines test American tolerance for risk, November 23, 2009

Experts question motives of mammogram guidelines, November 17, 2009

USPSTF ups mammography screening age to 50, November 16, 2009

JAMA editorial raises questions about breast, prostate screening, October 22, 2009

Copyright © 2009 AuntMinnie.com

Page 1 of 569
Next Page