ACR supports new bill to delay implementation of USPSTF screening recommendations until 2019

The American College of Radiology (ACR) issued a statement saying it supports provisions in a new Senate bill that would extend the current two-year delay in implementation of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) breast cancer screening recommendations.

The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act would extend the delay, which is currently scheduled to expire in 2017, all the way to 2019.

“All major stakeholders in this issue agree that regular mammography screening saves lives,” Geraldine McGinty, MD, MBA, vice chair of the ACR Board of Chancellors, said in a prepared statement. “We would hope that even the most vocal critic of this screening would agree that women should be able to choose for themselves when to be tested and to have that decision respected in terms of covered access. We strongly urge the Senate and House to pass these continued protections for women and their families into law.”

The USPSTF’s recommendations gave mammograms for women ages 40 to 49 and annual mammograms for women ages 50 to 74 a “C” grade, meaning private insurers are not required by the ACA to cover those exams.

The USPSTF gave biennial mammography for women ages 50 to 74 its “B” grade, meaning private insurers are required to cover those exams.