Use and Costs of Breast Cancer Screening for Women in Their 40s in a US Population With Private Insurance

Although professional society guidelines vary, most private insurance companies in the US will reimburse for the costs of mammography for women age 40 through 49 years. While the clinical benefits and harms of screening women in their 40s have been widely discussed, there is limited evidence regarding the cost implications of contemporary breast cancer-screening practices among this population. Here, Kunst et al uses Blue Cross Blue Shield Axis data to examine the total annual cost of breast cancer screening for women aged 40 through 49 years in the US.