Breast Exam Quandary: Insurance Coverage

One of the immediate concerns raised about the government's new guidelines on breast exams is whether insurers will continue to cover mammograms for younger women.

In a reversal of past advice, a government panel says women should begin getting screened for breast cancer at age 50, rather than 40.

However, the American Cancer Society still recommends women get tested at 40. The competing advice is bound to cause confusion.

For their part, some insurance-industry types tried to calm fears about coverage.

"We don't believe that payment will vary depending on whether a woman who gets a screening is in the target age group or outside the target age group," Susan Pisano, a spokeswoman for the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans, tells ABC News.

Every state, except Utah, requires health insurers to pay at least part of the cost of a mammogram. That law doesn't apply to self-insured employer plans, however.

WellPoint Inc., one of the largest health insurers in the country with 34 million members, “doesn’t adhere to any one source” when it reviews its coverage policies, spokeswoman Jill Becher tells Bloomberg News. The insurer pays for annual mammograms for 40-year-old women in the majority of its plans, she says.

Last month, Michelle Obama used a breast cancer awareness event to attack the industry, saying patients should be covered for screenings. She also said breast cancer patients pay exorbitant amounts for out-of-pocket expenses and are denied coverage because of preexisting conditions.