If PSA Tests Don't Impact Survival, Why Do Insurance Companies Do The Test Without Your Knowledge?

A discussion on Twitter caught the eyes of my colleagues yesterday, and raised a very interesting question: should insurance companies be allowed to do PSA testing to detect prostate cancer on men as a condition of getting insurance? What started the discussion was a blog post by a well-known and respected medical blogger who goes by the name "Skeptical Scalpel." In his blog he detailed the saga of a 56 year old man who had a pre-employment physical in order to be covered by his new company's health insurance plan. He was not informed that he was going to have a PSA test. It was just done as part of the process. No informed consent, no nothing, just stick out your arm, have blood drawn, and register your surprise that the test was done once the results come back. The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends against any man having the test to detect prostate cancer. Even among those who say the test is an option, -including the American Cancer Society-recommend that a man have a full, informed understanding of the pros and cons of PSA testing before getting the test, given the uncertainties of whether it really saves lives and the known frequency of side effects associated with treatment for prostate cancer. None of those recommendations were part of the consideration for this man when he was examined for his insurance plan. You can imagine what happened: his PSA was slightly elevated at 5.9. He was "rated" by the insurer, charged an extra $200 a month for his h...
Source: Dr. Len's Cancer Blog - Category: Cancer Authors: Tags: Cancer Care Early detection Prostate Cancer Screening Survivors Treatment Source Type: blogs