title: Breast density legislation: mandatory disclosure to patients, alternative screening, billing, reimbursement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is describe the origins and provisions of breast density legislation and to evaluate these mandates with regard to the balance between the potential benefit of supplementary screening and the substantial risk of false-positive findings and the adjunctive tests they necessitate. CONCLUSION. Many states have passed breast density notification legislation, and federal legislation is pending. These mandates present a number of challenges for patients and physicians. There is no consensus regarding the need for supplementary testing solely because a woman has dense breasts. The failure of density legislation to require insurance coverage in many states further complicates implementation of the mandates.
authors.affiliation: 1 All authors: Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, Mount Zion Medical Center, 1600 Divisadero St, Rm C250, Mail Box 1667, San Francisco, CA 94115.
authors.forename: Kimberly M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: Elissa R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Bonnie N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Joe
mesh_terms: D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms; D014342:Truth Disclosure
keywords: breast density; legislation; mammography