Is this the beginning of health care rationing?

[cantdrv55]

Experts question motives of mammogram guidelines | Health | Reuters

Experts question motives of mammogram guidelines


* Dr Carol Lee, chairwoman of the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Commission, said she fears insurers -- both private and public -- will use them to pare back health costs.

"These new recommendations seem to reflect a conscious decision to ration care," Lee said in a statement.



Tell you what, if this new guideline becomes the rule, I will pay out of pocket for my wife to get her mammograms yearly. We're not waiting till she's 50 or too late.

[red-beard]

Yes. Welcome to the new world order.

[Hugh R]

My wife had breast cancer at 45, Caught it early. No chemo/no radiation. At 50 she would have been dead.

[cantdrv55]

That's great to hear, Hugh. Take care of her.

My wife's family has a history of BC. Scares me every time she gets her mammo.

[Tobra]

They call them screening tests for a reason. They are a cheap way to check for a potentially devastating disease.

So who is on the hook if the doctor follows the govt mandated guidelines, the patient gets cancer and dies because everything was WNL(within normal limits/we never looked), the govt or the doctor?

Yeah, that is what I thought. Mammograms are pretty GD cheap, best 50 bucks Hugh ever spent in his entire life, I guarantee it.

[red-beard]

My ex-wife, a Medical Technologist (per who runs the Medical Lab), worked for a while in a good sized HMO. These people did a yearly wellness check on everyone. I can't remember how many Chlymidia tests they ran on a daily basis, but it was extreme. The tests are cheap. This idea is stupid.

[The Gaijin]

This issue may get lost in the media frenzy..

Apparently the radiation in the test itself may be a bad thing. So part of this may be to cut back on that exposure. Those with family histories and etc may be under different guidelines..

I am no expert - but there is another guideline about self examination being not effective, but that is how my fiance discovered her BC. (She was in her 30s..)

[dhoward]

Perfect way to reduce the number of people sucking at the teat (had to be said) of public health care. Late diagnosis. More opportunity for end of life 'counseling'...

[red-beard]

See, this is what happens when you let the government do the cost benefit analysis.

[lowyder993s]

Same as Hugh's...my wife was diagnosed at 48. Found thru self-exam. Had had a mammo 4 mos prior. Just crazy talk if you ask me. The statistic thrown around here is that 1 in 8 women in Cali get breast cancer. Detected early, some forms are 98-99% cureable. Doing the 3-day walk this weekend.

[berettafan]

rationing is exactly what i thought and i didn't even hear the quoted comment.

assume somebody understands this and is making sure it hits the media.

[berettafan]

Originally Posted by red-beard

See, this is what happens when you let the government do the cost benefit analysis.

i have a great story on this subject as it is near and dear for me.

i volunteer on our towns utility commission. we own our electric company (the town actually owns it) and as such we have lots of related issues to deal with. one case was a suggestion of going with 'smart meters'. neat concept but for several months in a row when town staff would bring shiny brochures and promises to our meetings looking for a recommendation i would ask 'where is the cost/benefit analysis?'.

the first response was a blank stare.

a month later the response was that the vendors provided a cost/benefit analysis in their brochures. (what a dissappointment that i had to point out the vendors have no effing idea what our expenses/labor issues are).

the final straw was when the finance director responded with "look, we have the bond money allocated and if we don't spend it we will lose it!".

farking morons. how in god's name this didn't provoke a burning in effigy i'll never understand.

[cgarr]

Don't ever screw with Women! The last people to do this was Playtex who changed the Tampon Box count so they didn't have to raise the price! Big Mistake!

[berettafan]

the discussions in the medical/admin community about which treatments/tests and when are NOT new. they have been forced into being by the med. insurance industry for some time.

the difference is the public is just a touch more in tune to the concept and, again, i believe there are some behind the scenes who see this sort of story as a possible way to fight this mess.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by berettafan

i have a great story on this subject as it is near and dear for me.

i volunteer on our towns utility commission. we own our electric company (the town actually owns it) and as such we have lots of related issues to deal with. one case was a suggestion of going with 'smart meters'. neat concept but for several months in a row when town staff would bring shiny brochures and promises to our meetings looking for a recommendation i would ask 'where is the cost/benefit analysis?'.

the first response was a blank stare.

a month later the response was that the vendors provided a cost/benefit analysis in their brochures. (what a dissappointment that i had to point out the vendors have no effing idea what our expenses/labor issues are).

the final straw was when the finance director responded with "look, we have the bond money allocated and if we don't spend it we will lose it!".

farking morons. how in god's name this didn't provoke a burning in effigy i'll never understand.

This is the question I've been asking since people started talking "smart grids", and how it will save money. How? What is the basis of the savings and what is the pay back period.

(sound of crickets)

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by cgarr

Don't ever screw with Women! The last people to do this was Playtex who changed the Tampon Box count so they didn't have to raise the price! Big Mistake!

How do you know?

[Rick Lee]

My dad's mother died of breast cancer at 42. I think waiting until 50 is nuts.

[nynor]

this is what happens when government gets involved with anything. i can guarantee all those politicians will be getting their mammograms at 40.

[Superman]

Yes, the x-radiation is dangerous. Causes cancer. Above, someone mentioned a mammogram and then cancer was found during a self-exam four months later. Sure, the cancer might have been absent four months earlier during the mammogram......or the mammogram missed it. Or the mammogram caused it. I'm not a doctor and the ones we have here might not have all the information that was used in making this controversial guideline.

Then again......you guys are without a doubt considerably more qualified to make these decisions than the folks with the education and data. Anecdotal evidence is always preferable to hard data over thousands of patients.

[nynor]

Originally Posted by Superman

Yes, the x-radiation is dangerous. Causes cancer. Above, someone mentioned a mammogram and then cancer was found during a self-exam four months later. Sure, the cancer might have been absent four months earlier during the mammogram......or the mammogram missed it. Or the mammogram caused it. I'm not a doctor and the ones we have here might not have all the information that was used in making this controversial guideline.

Then again......you guys are without a doubt considerably more qualified to make these decisions than the folks with the education and data. Anecdotal evidence is always preferable to hard data over thousands of patients.

more ball washing.