Did you know in November 2009, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published revised recommendations for breast cancer screening in the Annals of Internal Medicine?  The recommendations advised against routine mammography screening for women in their 40s and for women ages 50 to 74 routine mammograms only every two years. USPSTF cited studies that showed that more frequent screening increased rates of overdiagnosis and unnecessary biopsies, whereas, the benefits of more frequent screening remained the same. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology 's current recommendations for mammogram screening disagree with USPSTF. ACOG recommends mammogram screening every one to two years for women in the their 40s and every year for women age 50 or older.

Much concern was generated in the health care community that women would be denied insurance coverage for preventive health care. With the passage of the Mikulski Women’s Health Amendment to HR 35909, however, insurance coverage for women’s preventive healthcare is guaranteed. The healthcare amendment requires health plans to cover mammograms and other preventive screening if a woman’s physician says she needs it and if the physician’s decision is based on recognized guidelines from national medical specialties. So, for now, watch for ACOG’s opinion on the new mammogram recommendations and ask your doctor whether or not the benefit of your mammogram screening outweighs the risk.