I had my final post-pardum doctor appointment last week (from my final surrogacy). I had an interesting conversation with my doctor that I thought I would share.
We were talking about my walking in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure® walk in November. Now my doctor is very laid back and not prone to excitement. So when he lit up and started ranting about the changes in health insurance, I paid attention.
He explained the changes in policy relating to mammograms. Apparently, under the new health plan, women won’t be covered for mammograms until they are 50 years old. He explained that by this age, the cure rate is drastically decreased and a woman’s prognosis is much worse than if she was screened and a potential cancer was caught earlier. Please note: This is my doctors educated opinion that I am sharing. Please consult your own doctor if you have questions!
The entire conversation made me laugh. Just to see how passionate my OBGYN was about this topic made me pause and think about it. I actually came home and tried to research the “Obama Care” policy so that I could blog about it and share it with you. Honestly, it made my head spin! I could not find the health care plan explained in plain English. Everything was either governmental speak or opinion. I was able to find an article at www.Komen.org that helped explain early mammography screenings that was a little easier to understand. Basically it says this:
Mammography in women 40 to 49 saves lives.
Yeah, that was enough for me!
I’m not even 40 yet (just a few very short years to go). But my doctor recommended that I go ahead and get screened…while I still can. Otherwise, it will be 12 years before I can have the test again. I decided that since I will be walking The 3-Day walk and devoting the next 17 weeks to promoting treatment and prevention of breast cancer, then I ought to do what I need to do to keep myself healthy as well.
If you are in your 40′s (or like me, very close) I encourage you to talk to you doctor and see if a mammogram might be a good idea for you, too. My appointment is August 10th and I’ll be back to tell you how it went.
Welcome to OhRheally?, My name is Rhea and I share stories of life raising 3 sons, my experiences as a (recently retired) 
I can’t wait to hear how it goes. I think I’m more afraid of the test because I don’t know anyone that has had it done… Although this coming from a girl who hasn’t had a pap test in over 2 years. ahem. Can’t wait until your boobs get squished!
I had no idea….
As much as I DREAD the test, it’s totally worth it…I think I’ll get my dr to make me a referral for one NOW too.
The good news Rhea is if you have private insurance most of them will go by the standards from the American Cancer Society. While the government has stated 50, the ACS still states 40. I talked with our insurance company about it as well as talking to the radiologists I work with, they all agreed 40 is the age to start at, but the other key is to have them yearly. Can’t begin to tell you how many reports I type where the woman had one in the 90′s but hasn’t been back since.
That is good to know, Holly. Like I mentioned, I had such a hard time finding the new regulations in plain English so I could understand what it all meant. But it’s all good and If I’m allowed to do one now, I will. It’s nothing to mess around with!
It’s going to be like that with so many tests under that plan that it’s ridiculous. Older people won’t be entitled to get colonoscopies as often etc.., so many more people on Social Security are going to die, and I truly think that is the plan. They want those that will use the resources and the health care system to just hurry up and kick the bucket, so the money going out for care won’t bankrupt the country. Yet, I think it still can and probably will, or they’ll just end up taxing everyone into their graves.
It’s going to end up being a black market society, where those who can pay for services on their own and under the radar of the government will, just to have the care they truly need. It’s going to take brave Doctor’s willing to put their licenses on the line for this and companies that have the testing equipment too.
P.S. I know Doctor’s and heard them personally who think this care plan is really going to hurt alot of people who’ve paid into this country.
Sure it’s going to help the illegals who’ve never paid a dime into the system, but the rest of us, I in my own personal opinion think not so much.
I do think children will get the better care, but aging adults, or women, nope.
I had one in my 20′s because it was a job requirement when I was hired on at a certain hospital. Not something that was particularly fun but, like the yearly pap, it is something we should all suffer through for ourselves, our kids, our spouses, etc. Best of luck with yours, Rhea, and love the Shatner funny!
Hi Rhea,
I’m not an expert on this topic, but I have done quite a bit of research on it. The new governmental recommendations were released late last year by the US Preventative Services Task Force. Essentially, they are a branch of the Health and Human Services department that evaluates the effectiveness of all kinds of medical services and treatments. Their findings are then used to establish the government’s recommendations which many insurance companies then use to establish their personal policies. The big concern when the new guidelines were released was not so much that the government would stop people under the age of 50 from getting mammograms, but that insurance companies would stop paying for it by citing the governmental recs.
That being said, it is worth noting that HHS has essentially all but disregarded the findings of the USPSTF and have chosen to continue recommending mammograms starting at age 40, much in line with the American Cancer Society and SGK. However, the USPSTF findings are out there and many insurance companies will try to use them to save some money, sadly.
I am a biomedical scientist by training and I will be pursuing a career in science policy and advocacy once I finish my PhD, so this is a topic that is particularly important to me. I wrote a long piece about all of this for my blog last fall. You can find what I wrote (that is hopefully in real English and not jargon!) here: http://kscincotta.blogspot.com/2009/12/in-news-new-mammogram-recommendations.html
Hope that helps to clarify some things for you!
Kristen
Thank you Kristen for your post and linking me to the info on your blog! I’m off to read it.
I posted a complaint about the new age thing on my blog a few months back when they were talking about it. I can’t see how any government, even as messed up as ours is, to tell people not to get a test done when they know it’s safer to get tested early rather that later.
It’s great that your doctor is proactive on this subject….don’t forget to ask for a donation