Medicare to Expand Coverage of Image-Guided Biopsies of Breast Lumps

Medicare will soon be paying for any image-guided needle biopsy performed to determine if a breast lump is cancerous.

Since early 2000, Medicare has paid for image-guided biopsies of lumps that cannot be felt by hand and were regarded as potentially cancerous by a radiologist.

However, just because a lump can be easily palpated does not mean it is easy to biopsy, which was the premise behind the effort to get image-guided biopsies covered by Medicare.

Image-guidance biopsies include directional, vacuum assisted breast biopsy, automated surgical biopsy, and needle core biopsy.

The benefit will become available later in 2002.

Other Sources: Department of Health and Human Services