Mammograms can detect early breast cancer.
Medicare provides health insurance coverage for many senior citizens as well as some people with disabilities. It covers a wide range of services, including both routine screening tests and diagnostic tests. Medicare Part B typically covers outpatient medical tests like mammograms and breast ultrasounds. Medicare recipients have to pay monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, but if they have low incomes, they can usually get assistance from the state in which they live to help pay their premiums.
Mammograms
Mammograms are special X-rays of the breasts. Women over the age of 40 should have regular mammograms to screen for cancer and other abnormalities. Mammograms should not take the place of annual clinical breast exams and monthly breast self-exams, however. They are simply one more screening tool. Both women and men may require diagnostic mammograms if they have symptoms like lumps in their breasts or nipple discharge (rarely, men develop breast cancer just as women do). Mammograms may cause some discomfort for some patients because the machinery compresses the breast tissue to get a good picture. They are easily performed on an outpatient basis and only take a few moments to complete.
Ultrasounds
Ultrasounds use high frequently sound waves to visualize structures in the body. Perhaps ultrasounds are best known for monitoring the development of babies during pregnancy, but they can identify abnormalities in the breasts as well. Unlike X-rays, they do not expose patients to radiation. Also, women do not get breast ultrasounds routinely, in contrast to mammograms, but their doctors may recommend ultrasounds if they have problems with their breasts. Ultrasounds cause no pain and are easily performed on an outpatient basis, although sometimes inpatients may require breast ultrasounds as well. They may take a bit longer to perform than mammograms, but they are not lengthy procedures.
Coverage for Mammograms
Medicare Part B pays for mammograms annually for women beginning at age 40. Medicare also pays for one baseline mammogram for women between the ages of 35 and 40. Medicare will pay for addition mammograms for both men and women if they have lumps in their breasts or other symptoms of problems. Medicare Part B covers the full cost of mammograms (as of 2011).
Coverage for Breast Ultrasounds
Medicare Part B covers outpatient medical tests such as breast ultrasounds when medically indicated. Medicaid Part B pays 80 percent of the cost, and patients pay the other 20 percent (as of 2011).
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