Lead article: “Doctors in county unmoved. Say they won’t follow new guidelines on mammograms.”
WATCHDOG: This is a clear example of what is wrong with our health care system and why we have to pay about 50% more than other nations while receiving no better or worse care.
From their points of view, these doctors are perfectly correct. First of all, they are committed to saving lives, and mammograms for a typical female in her 40s will occasionally turn up important information. And secondly, as participants in the free enterprise system, testing generates fees for doctors and radiologists and helps pay for greater than other wise needed investment in imaging equipment.
We suspect that testing typical women in their 30s would also detect some problems, but still less than those in their 40s and much less than those in their 50s. How far can we afford to go?
But viewing matters on a societal level, imaging women in their 40s may not be the best use of our scarce resources. It will mean lesser funds for public health, childhood preventive efforts, education, and money left in the pocket of the taxpayers to meet more pressing needs. Put it another way, using the money for other health care purposes, will save more lives.
The good thing about this report is that some insurers may now refuse to cover annual mammograms.
But so long as they can pass along the expense to the insured and there is demand from doctors and the public, most may not do so.
This is another reason why our country needs a single payer system like Medicare which is similar to what is provided by other economically advanced nations. Priorities must be based on what is best for society. Yes, excuse the dirty word, but this means ‘rationing.’
Mammograms don’t just cost money: the effect of radiation is cumulative.
If a mammogram is more likely to give you cancer than to detect it, it’s unwise to have a mammogram.