Pap smears? Mammograms? Prostate exams? Not under Obamacare
March 16, 2012 by Don Surber
Slowly but surely the truth is coming out about Obamacare: Conservatives were right.
Conservatives said Obamacare would cost trillions. Our intellectual and moral superiors on the left sneered.
The CBO reported this week that Obamacare will cost nearly $1.8 trillion in the first 10 years alone — nearly double what Democrats said it would cost. And instead of reducing the deficit, Obamacare will increase the deficit.
Conservatives said Obamacare would cost people their health insurance. Our intellectual and moral superiors on the left sneered.
The CBO reported this week that Obamacare already has cost 4 million people their health insurance.
Conservatives said there would be less health care under Obamacare.
This week, MSNBC reported:
Most women can go as long as five years between cervical cancer screenings as long as they make sure to get both a Pap smear and an HPV test when they do get examined, a government panel said Wednesday.
The interval between cervical cancer screenings can safely be extended for women between the ages of 30 and 65, according to the new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Women ages 21 to 30 should still get a Pap smear every three years, the interval currently recommended. But those younger than 21 and older than 65 can skip the screen altogether, the experts concluded.
The panel is urging a extended intervals in screenings in an attempt to cut back on the number of women who end up being treated for lesions that might resolve on their own.
Earlier, the New York Times reported:
Most women should start regular breast cancer screening at age 50, not 40, according to new guidelines released Monday by an influential group that provides guidance to doctors, insurance companies and policy makers.
The new recommendations, which do not apply to a small group of women with unusual risk factors for breast cancer, reverse longstanding guidelines and are aimed at reducing harm from overtreatment, the group says. It also says women age 50 to 74 should have mammograms less frequently — every two years, rather than every year. And it said doctors should stop teaching women to examine their breasts on a regular basis.
Just seven years ago, the same group, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, with different members, recommended that women have mammograms every one to two years starting at age 40. It found too little evidence to take a stand on breast self-examinations.
Also this week, CNN reported:
he U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the group that told women in their 40s that they don’t need mammograms, will recommend that men not get screened for prostate cancer, according to a source privy to the task force deliberations.
The task force is set to recommend a “D” rating for prostate specific antigen, or PSA, testing. Such a rating means “there is moderate or high certainty that the service has no net benefit or that the harms outweigh the benefits,” according to the group’s website. The task force is set to propose this recommendation Tuesday, and then allow for a comment period before issuing a final recommendation.
According to a draft copy of a report released Friday, a review of studies shows screening with the PSA blood test results in “small or no reduction” in prostate cancer deaths.
The report adds that PSA testing is “associated with harms related to subsequent evaluation and treatments.”
The wheels are being greased to eliminate expensive testing for cancer. We’ll be like England.
Let me summarize: Less care for fewer people at double the price. Anyone can screw up. It takes the federal government to screw things up royally.
Obamacare is here to serve man...lol |
