Legislation has been introduced into the U.S. Congress that would require private insurance companies to pay for mammography and breast MRI procedures in women over 40.
The Mammogram and MRI Availability Act was introduced by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and requires insurance companies that pay for diagnostic mammograms to also pay for screening mammograms for women 40 and older, as well as breast MRI screenings for high-risk women.
In a press release, the congressman's office said that while many insurance companies already pay for diagnostic mammograms, some do not cover screening mammograms or breast MRI studies. Medicare and Medicaid already cover annual screening mammograms.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has recommended that women 40 and older have a mammogram once every one or two years, the press release notes, and an NCI study from 2005 affirmed that mammograms contributed to a pronounced drop in the number of breast cancer deaths.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that in 2008 alone, 40,480 women in the U.S. died from breast cancer and more than 182,460 new cases of the disease were discovered.
Related Reading
AJR studies show decline in mammo use, workforce shortages, February 3, 2009
Free mammography still carries some costs, September 26, 2008
The rich get too many mammograms; the poor too few, March 11, 2008
Even small co-pay deters mammogram use: U.S. study, January 25, 2008
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