Women Say Money, Not Medicine Behind Federal Recommendation

November 24, 2009 10:08 AM | | Comments (1)

By nearly a 5-1 margin, American women say the advice from a government task force to defer their first mammogram until age 50 is based more on money than on medicine, according to a USA Today-Gallup poll taken Nov. 20-22.

The poll was conducted among women between the ages of 35 and 75, and three-fourths of them said they disagreed with the new recommendations. Nearly half disagreed strongly, according to Gallup.

In addition to recommending that women have their first mammogram at age 50, instead of age 40, as has been the practice for years, the task force also advises that follow-up mammograms should be done every two years, instead of every year.

The poll found that 76 percent thought the reason was "potential for cost savings," and 16 percent said it was based on "assessment of risks and benefits."

This is advice lots of women plan to ignore. Eighty-four percent of the women in the sample between the ages of 35 and 49 say they will have their next mammogram before age 50.

The poll was based on telephone interviews with 1,136 women nationwide and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

More from CQ Politics

Categories: USA Today/Gallup

Tags: Health

    Comments

  1. Are their any morons out there who think this is just a coincidence?? Get ready for rationing if this abortion masquerading as "health-care reform" passes.

    Posted by: NObama Author Profile Page | November 24, 2009 6:59 PM

Post A Comment


(for verification only; will not be published with your comment)