Congressman Mac Thornberry sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius concerning the recent recommendations on mammography screenings made by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

Congressman Thornberry said, "These are very important decisions that should be made by a woman and her doctor. This is a step backward in the fight against breast cancer, and a step toward more government control of your health care. Screening and early detection are the most important tools we currently have in fighting this terrible disease and this decision will potentially interfere with these important screenings."

The House recently passed H.R. 3962, the Pelosi Health Care Bill. The bill would empower the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to also issue similar recommendations that would require health plans to cover certain services. Under the bill, the Task Force will be able to place restrictions on the scope and duration of those mandated benefits. If the bill were to become law, recommendations such as the recent guidance on mammography screenings could limit coverage of this important and life-saving test.

"With the recent passage of the Pelosi Health Care Bill, I am concerned that this is just the beginning of these types of government panels setting coverage guidelines that will impact every American. Health care decisions should be made by patients and doctors, not by government task forces. This is a prime example of what our health care system will be like in the near future should the Pelosi bill become law," Congressman Thornberry concluded.

Click here http://www.thornberry.house.gov/images/sebelius%2011-20.pdf to read the letter that Congressman Thornberry sent to Secretary Sebelius.