Number of Women Passing on Mammograms Increasing

A Brown University and Harvard Medical School study discovered that a lot of women between 65 and 69 years old with Medicare coverage will not get screened for breast cancer if a co payment is required. The New England Journal of Medicine stated these findings.

Women with full coverage had an 8 percent higher rate of screening than those with required co payments for mammograms. Medical News Today reported this. the lead author of the study, Amal Trivedi, M.D. says, "The message is simple and it's startling - a small co payment for a mammogram can lead to a sharp decrease in breast cancer screening rates."

Even just a $12 co pay is enough for women to pass on mammograms, suggests the study. John Ayanian, M.D., Harvard professor and co author of the study states, "Eliminating co payments for mammograms in the Medicare program has the potential to save lives, because screening detects breast cancers at an earlier, more curable stage."

Scheduling regular mammograms is important, says the National Institute of Cancer. Women ages 40 and over need a mammogram every 1 to 2 years. Women under 40 need to perform breast self exams to check for lumps.

40,000 women lose their lives to breast cancer each year, says the Mayo Clinic. With screening and the correct preventative care, it can be caught earlier. Paying a few more dollars on a mammogram is worth it.