HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday said that federal health insurance programs will not alter their mammogram coverage policies following new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the New York Times reports. The guidelines, released earlier this week, promote mammograms every two years for most women starting at age 50. They also say that doctors should not instruct women on how to examine their breasts on a regular basis. Medicare -- which primarily covers U.S. residents ages 65 and older but also insures some younger people with disabilities -- pays for annual mammograms beginning at age 40. Medicaid coverage policies are set by states (Sack/Kolata, New York Times, 11/19).

Sebelius acknowledged that the new guidelines have "caused a great deal of confusion and worry among women and their families across this country." She emphasized that the task force is "an outside independent panel of doctors and scientists who ... do not set federal policy and ... don't determine what services are covered by the federal government" (Stein/Eggen, Washington Post, 11/19). The government's policies concerning mammogram coverage "remain unchanged," Sebelius said, adding, "I would be very surprised if any private insurance company changed its mammography coverage decisions as a result of this action" (New York Times, 11/19).

Susan Pisano -- a spokesperson for America's Health Insurance Plans, which represents 1,300 insurance companies -- said that private insurers have not yet proposed altering their mammogram coverage policies (Szabo, USA Today, 11/19). Several companies -- including WellPoint, Aetna, CIGNA, Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealth Group -- said that their coverage decisions are based on a variety of research guidelines from different groups, including organizations that have not endorsed the task force's new recommendations (Singer/Abelson, href="http://www…