WASHINGTON — Updated screening mammography recommendations issued in November by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force became politicized in part because they were released during Congressional action on health care reform, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said at a Dec. 2 hearing he called on the issue.
“The controversy that was ignited by the report may be eclipsing what the report actually says,” said Rep. Pallone, chair of the health subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The recommendations became fodder for Republicans seeking to bolster their argument that the House-passed health reform plan would give too much power to government-appointed boards and could result in the rationing of health care. The argument was played out again at the hearing.
After more than 4 hours of wrangling, Rep. Pallone said to Dr. Ned Calonge, USPSTF chair, and Dr. Diana Petitti, the group's vice chair, “I really want to apologize to you, maybe on behalf of Congress.” He added: “This has been totally politicized.”
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) expressed sympathy for Dr. Calonge and Dr. Petitti, and said “you probably stepped into a quagmire that you did not expect.” Dr. Petitti said that when she found out the report would be released within a few days of the House vote, “I was sort of stunned and then also terrified. And I think my being terrified was exactly the right reaction.”
Eleven health organizations, including the American College of Physicians, sent a letter to Rep. Pallone and the health subcommittee's ranking minority member Joe Barton (R-Tex.) supporting the recommendations.
Testifying for the ACP, Dr. Donna E. Sweet said the college is concerned that politicization of clinical effectiveness findings “could lead to efforts to eliminate the Task Force, cut its funding, or result in politically driven changes so that future evaluations are influenced by political or stakeholder interests—instead of science.”
Dr. Sweet, professor of internal medicine at the University of Kansas, Wichita, added that the ACP “urges Congress, the administration, and patient and physician advocacy groups to respect and support the importance of protecting evidence-based research by respected scientists and clinicians from being used to score political points that do not serve the public's interest.”