Medicare, which began paying for 3D exams in 2015, spent an additional $230 million on breast cancer screenings within the first three years of coverage. Taxpayers write the check for many 3D screenings, which add about $50 to the cost of a typical mammogram. When rural hospitals can’t afford 3D machines, foundations often pitch in to raise money. More than 63% of mammography facilities offer 3D screenings, first approved for sale in 2011. Hologic also has funded patient advocates such as the Black Women’s Health Imperative, which lobbies for access to 3D mammograms.Įnthusiasm for 3D has sparked a medical technology arms race, with hospitals and radiology practices competing to offer the newest equipment. Hologic has given educational grants (PDF) to the American Society of Breast Surgeons, a medical association that recently recommended (PDF) 3D mammograms as its preferred screening method, according to the group’s website. Officials at Hologic, the leading manufacturer, told KHN that about 95% of insured women have coverage for tomosynthesis. Private insurers in 16 states are now legally required to cover 3D screenings, along with Medicaid programs in 36 states and Washington, D.C. Manufacturers spent $14 million to market 3D screening over the past four years, not including spending on social media, according to Kantar Media, which tracks the advertising industry. Manufacturers have urged women to demand “the better mammogram,” using celebrity spokeswomen such as breast cancer survivor Sheryl Crow. The database shows that influential journal articles―those cited hundreds of times by other researchers―were written by doctors with financial ties to the 3D industry. Just over half of that money was related to research other payments covered speaking fees, consulting, travel, meals or drinks. In the past six years, 3D equipment manufacturers―including Hologic, GE Healthcare, Siemens Medical Solutions USA and Fujifilm Medical Systems USA―have paid doctors and teaching hospitals more than $240 million, including more than $9.2 million related to 3D mammograms, according to a KHN analysis of the Medicare Open Payments database. KHN’s investigation shows that industry money has shaped policy, public opinion and patient care around 3D by: Steven Woloshin, director of the Center for Medicine and Media at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, who published a study in January showing that the healthcare industry spends $30 billion a year on marketing. “There’s a lot of money to be made,” said Dr. Preventive Services Task Force, haven’t been shown to be more effective than traditional mammograms. The juggernaut has left many women feeling pressured to undergo screenings, which, according to the U.S. Upselling customers on high-tech breast cancer screenings is just one way the 3D mammography industry aggressively promotes its product.Ī Kaiser Health News investigation found that manufacturers, hospitals, doctors and some patient advocates have put their marketing muscle―and millions of dollars―behind 3D mammograms. A short time later, a technician asked again: Was the patient sure she didn’t want 3D?
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