FixHealthCarePolicy

Study: Virtual Colonoscopies May Be Option to Real Ones

Even though Medicare in May said it would not pay for the virtual colonoscopies, a new report has come out in support of the procedure that checks for tumors and precancerous lesions. According to the Associated Press, Italian researchers found the virtual colonoscopies were safe and almost as good as standard colonoscopies, making them a possible alternative for people embarrassed or afraid to have the standard check.

As U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan pointed out in a recent Heritage Tele-townhall, having a Medicare-modeled health insurance plan from the federal government would put patients in the situation of being denied innovative medical approaches like a virtual colonoscopy. “These things are denied [by Medicare] for cost reasons,” he told callers (listen to the full call here).

Tags: Medicare, public plan, virtual colonoscopy