Democratic congresswoman says mammograms won’t be excluded in health care overhaul

Lawmaker says health bill won’t limit mammograms

WASHINGTON — A Democratic lawmaker who has been treated for breast cancer says worries that the proposed health care overhaul would limit cancer screenings are overblown.

The lawmaker, Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, says fears that mammograms wouldn’t be covered are misplaced and that Republicans “have a different interpretation” of what the proposed law actually prescribes.

An independent task force recommended last week that women start mammograms at 50 rather than 40.

Republicans claim the health care overhaul proposed by Democrats amounts to government-rationed health care because a Washington-funded plan would adhere to those recommendations on mammograms.

Wasserman Schultz appeared Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”