While guidelines for cancer screening have begun factoring in life expectancy, a new poll shows a majority of older adults disagree with age cutoffs based on how long a person is expected to live. The University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging queried more than...
While guidelines for cancer screening have begun factoring in life expectancy, a new poll shows a majority of older adults disagree with age cutoffs based on how long a person is expected to live.
“Personalizing cancer screening decisions to each patient’s health situation, rather than using one-size-fits-all age cutoffs, could benefit both very healthy and less healthy patients in different ways,” said study author Brian Zikmund-Fisher, a health care decision-making researcher and professor from University of Michigan's School of Public Health, in Ann Arbor.
Yet even among adults who the poll staff might consider “medical minimizers,” avoiding medical intervention unless necessary, 57% disagreed with the idea of using life expectancy for cancer screening guidelines. Guidelines play a role in helping doctors decide which screening to do, but they also affect insurance coverage.
“Depending on how the courts eventually rule, insurance coverage of some cancer screenings could end for some older adults, because insurers would be allowed to set their own standards for coverage and not have to abide by guidelines,” Kullgren added.
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