Mammograms can miss tumors in women with dense breast tissue. So for these patients, doctors often include a second scan — ultrasound, for example, or an M.R.I. Though many women see the extra scan as a routine form of prevention, Medicare won’t pay for it, and some patients are left to pick up a hefty tab. But the clinic’s staff said that while her mammogram would be fully covered by Medicare, a so-called supplemental ultrasound was not. “I just don’t understand how something that has been the recommended diagnostic test for years is suddenly not covered by Medicare,” she said.

---

Persons: Mammograms, Joellen Sommer, Sommer, “, ” Organizations: Medicare Locations: Manhattan