As the Cancer Society’s chief medical officer put it somewhat baldly, the task force concluded that screening 1,300 women in their 50s to save one life is worth it, but that screening 1,900 women in their 40s to save one life is not. While roughly 15 percent of women in their 40s detect breast cancer through mammography, data show that many other women experience false positives, anxiety, and unnecessary biopsies as a result of the test, according to the task force.
– The recommendation from the US Preventative Services Task Force that women in their 40s should not get mammograms is not government policy, said the secretary of Health and Human Services. Kathleen Sebelius tried to tamp down some of the controversy that has followed the panel’s decision, asserting that government insurance policies “remain unchanged. I would be very surprised if any private insurance company changed its mammography coverage decisions as a result of this action," she said. "My message to women is simple. Mammograms have always been an important life-saving tool in the fight against breast cancer, and they still are today," Sebelius said. Her attempt to distance the administration from the task force comes amid criticism from the American Cancer Society and even opponents of Democratic health care reform, notes CNN. "This is how rationing begins," said one Republican congresswoman.