How much does a mammogram cost?

[KirstenB]

I'm 40 and haven't had one yet. I've heard that insurance doesn't usually pay for them. If you don't mind telling, how much do they run?

 

[Pixiedust34]

Insurance should pay for one. Have you asked your primary care doctor or ob-gyn to write a referral for a baseline mammogram?

 

[KirstenB]

Thanks Pixiedust. Guys, I'm sorry I did a dupe thread. I don't know how to delete it, sorry!

 

[aprilgail2]

Insurance covers them! I have been getting at least one a year since I was 27 and they have covered every single one!

 

[yeartolate]

A normal policy should cover it. My policy does not have a co-pay, others might.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

I just had one and got a bill before the insurance paid and it was $150.

 

[nhrenee]

Are you sure your health ins doesn't cover it? I think it's pretty standard these days.

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Most insurance plans cover this now. My insurance gives me one free per year.

However, if your insurance does not cover it and you can't afford it, check into local women's clinics or a local chapter of a cancer organization. They will often do them for a reduced cost or for free. This is a very important, possibly life saving procedure and cost shouldn't prohibit any woman from getting one!

 

[#1MMFan]

Not to scare anyone, but we don't do mammograms normally before the age of fifty over here. They just don't show enough detail because of the breast tissue density prior to that age. And just to back that up, I know of one specific person who had mammograms to investigate a breast lump in the US while in her thirties, was told it was normal breast tissue, and then came to the UK and was investigated for the same lump by alternative means. It was malignant. If I had been her, I would have been suing her healthcare provider in the US for performing the wrong investigation in the first place.

 

[Heidict]

I have an HMO and they cover one baseline between the ages of 35-39 and then one a year from 40 and up. There is no cost to me.

Please check with your insurance and if they don't cover it or you are unable to afford the cost of the deductible or coinsurance, please check with your doctor about getting one done for free.

There are a lot of programs that will do one for free or at a greatly reduced cost. Just takes a little checking to find one, but they are out there.

 

[Green Tea]

Our insurance covers it. I've not heard of anyone around here not having it covered. If yours does not, ask about low cost services, maybe from Planned Parenthood, the Health Department or the Free Clinic. In any case, they are pricelesss.