Expanding Quality, Affordable Health Care

Helping to Keep Mammogram Centers Open

For the 1 in 8 women in the United States who will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, early detection of the disease through a mammogram will increase their chances for permanent remission by up to 35%. The American Cancer Society recommends that women 40 and older have a mammogram every year, but while better technology has improved the ability to diagnose and treat the disease, the percentage of women receiving these important exams has been on the decline since 2000, particularly among women 50 to 65 years of age.

The root of this decline has been the alarming rate at which mammogram facilities are closing down. I recently released a study that shows New York City has 26% fewer facilities offering mammography screening since 1999, a loss of 67 clinics. The study also showed that women must now wait on average more than five weeks for an appointment and in some cases must wait as long as six months.

Among the reasons for these closures is the fact that Medicare reimbursement rates for mammograms are well below the actual cost of performing the exam, causing facilities to lose money. In the last five years, the average cost for a mammogram has risen 25% to $125, while the Medicare reimbursement has only risen 2% to $83.69 over the same period. This is not just a problem for those on Medicare. Private insurers base their reimbursement rates on Medicare levels, making this a concern for everyone in need of mammograms.

As these facilities close, women are being forced to wait extremely long periods of time for mammograms and are often discouraged enough to bypass them altogether. The wait has gotten especially bad in urban areas, with New York City experiencing a 171% increase in wait time over the last ten years.

Congress should pass my legislation to increase the Medicare reimbursement rate for mammograms, which will help these facilities remain open and help reverse the decline in the number of New York women seeking these life saving exams.

To read the highlights click here and to read my latest press release on this subject, click here