Health insurer Cigna has told its members that it won't pay for digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) screening exams, according to a report from television station WCVB in Boston.
Most Boston hospitals offer the technology routinely to all women, WCVB said. But in a letter to policyholders, Cigna stated there's not enough evidence to support using DBT for breast cancer screening, and that it uses twice the radiation of conventional 2D mammography.
"Cigna does not cover digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) ... for screening either as a standalone test or as an adjunct to screening mammography because it is considered experimental, investigational, or unproven," the company wrote in a coverage brief dated November 15.
