Getting A Head Start On Health Care Rationing

NEW YORK — Most women don't need a mammogram in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at 50, a government task force said Monday. It's a major reversal that conflicts with the American Cancer Society's long-standing position.
Also, the task force said breast self-exams do no good and women shouldn't be taught to do them...
"The benefits are less and the harms are greater when screening starts in the 40s," said Dr. Diana Petitti, vice chair of the panel...
The new guidelines were issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, whose stance influences coverage of screening tests by Medicare and many insurance companies...

The name of this panel should be changed to "U.S. PREVENT Services Task Force". It just so happens that the chair of USPSTF, Dr. Ned Calonge, is also on the steering committee of a socialized medicine advocacy group, Reforming States Group (RSG).