NPR Helps Set Stage for Health Care Rationing « NewsReal Blog

NPR Helps Set Stage for Health Care Rationing « NewsReal Blog: "This week, as we near the controversial health care debate to take place tomorrow in Congress, National Public Radio aired stories on two controversial studies that put forth new guidelines reducing screening recommendations for two forms of cancer frequently diagnosed in women.

They were just the two latest reports, in a series of stories aired over the past few months by the government-subsidized radio network, on new federal guidelines calling for decreased preventive and early-detection screening of several diseases that affect a wide range of the American population - the elderly, men, women, teens and newborns.

According to the most recent report on NPR, new guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists call for women to get Pap smears every two years, between the ages of 21 and 29. Previous guidelines called for annual pap smears every year for three years after the start of sexual activity, or 21 years of age, followed by one every three years if all three previous exams were normal. Pap smears have been very effective in the early detection of cervical cancer, a growing problem for young women.

The ACOG’s new guidelines come just days after new screening guidelines for breast cancer were announced to much public fury, and the day before Congress begins debate on the health care reform bill.

“It’s just pure coincidence that these guidelines have been released now,” says Dr. David Soper, the Chairman of ACOG’s Gynecology Practice Bulletin Committee."