Wellness

[ladyroxanne]

there is no history of cancer of any kind in my family so i didn't get a mammo last year.  i intend to get one this year and this is based on the new guidelines.  my internist was perfectly satisfied with my decision.

[Stray]

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@Winkk wrote:

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@151949 wrote:

I feel this is nothing but the insurance companies getting their way once again - at the cost of women's health. They don't want to pay for so many mammos now that the vast majority of women get them yearly.

When I first heard this I thought the same thing.  It's all about money.  Everything is about money.

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Actually, I worked for an insurance company as a nurse, not health insurance.  We are self insured and can dictate what is covered.  Mammography was covered by my Company well before it was mandated because the female employee population lobbied for it.  The guidelines are set by ACS and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists...often they are at odds.  But, the President also has councils on wellness usually headed by the Surgeon General.  They make rules for Medicare and Medicaid and Insurers follow the same guidelines.  They can provide more but not less than recommendations.  It is not about money...mammography is not an expensive test nor does it bring a lot of revenue to insurance companies...it is the government....

[Stray]

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@Lucky Charm wrote:

I get chills when I see where posters had cancer detected on their very first mammo.

Did I get the story right that they say the doctor doesn't need to perform a breast exam on you?

And.....

Had anyone been told that after a certain age and no prior issues, you don't need a PAP done every year, but every 2 or 3 years?

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Yearly paps are out...you can have one done yearly but you will pay for it unless your Gyn. History warrants it like cancer or HPV.  You can check the ACS website for guidelines for all screenings for cancer. 

[Stray]

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@silkyk wrote:

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@JeanLouiseFinch wrote:

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@Winkk wrote:

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@151949 wrote:

I feel this is nothing but the insurance companies getting their way once again - at the cost of women's health. They don't want to pay for so many mammos now that the vast majority of women get them yearly.

When I first heard this I thought the same thing.  It's all about money.  Everything is about money.

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I agree, too.  It seems insurance companies are the ones calling the shots more and more when it comes to health care.  God forbid they'd have to pay for a woman's mammo every year, but they can cover the cost of a man's "little helper" month after month.  Women die from breast cancer but a man won't die if he doesn't have "that" experience.   

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You are SO RIGHT! And if they DO this it seems to me that they are practicing medicine without a medical license! We have busine$$men (and women!) making decisions about our health that have no right to! Insurance companys have taken over our country and control everything. This is so wrong and has to stop or we are doomed.

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As an ex Gyn nurse, I don't agree about guidelines but the government guided by ACS and FACOG guidelines advise government panels re to mammography.  They use statistics obtained from the CDC and other agencies as well to determine recommendations.  Health insurers can elect to cover yearly mammograms but can't do less than the recommendations.  Private insurers usually follow Medicare guidelines.  

[Lipstickdiva]

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@Greenhouse wrote:

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@Winkk wrote:

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@151949 wrote:

I feel this is nothing but the insurance companies getting their way once again - at the cost of women's health. They don't want to pay for so many mammos now that the vast majority of women get them yearly.

When I first heard this I thought the same thing.  It's all about money.  Everything is about money.

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Actually, I worked for an insurance company as a nurse, not health insurance.  We are self insured and can dictate what is covered.  Mammography was covered by my Company well before it was mandated because the female employee population lobbied for it.  The guidelines are set by ACS and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists...often they are at odds.  But, the President also has councils on wellness usually headed by the Surgeon General.  They make rules for Medicare and Medicaid and Insurers follow the same guidelines.  They can provide more but not less than recommendations.  It is not about money...mammography is not an expensive test nor does it bring a lot of revenue to insurance companies...it is the government....

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I work with a woman who is 60 and has never had a mammogram.  She goes every year for a Thermogram and insists that the only reason mammograms are done is because insurance companies make so much money off of them.  I told her a mammogram isn't that expensive and actually I asked my doctor this year about getting a thermagram and she told me I could get one along with my mammo if I wanted.  When I looked at the cost, both were the same price. 

As an aside, my doctor also said that just the day before, they had a seminar on thermography and the research wasn't nearly as promising as they had hoped and that getting a mammogram was still the number 1 way of detection.