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Last November, the US Preventative Services Task Force issued a set of recommendations that said many women under 50 might not get much benefit from annual mammograms. Clinicians, breast cancer activists and members of the public were outraged and reacted by criticizing the findings and calling for legislation to require health care insurance coverage for annual exams. What the report says, based on the latest evidence, is that women younger that 50 who don’t have any special risk factors for breast cancer should talk with their doctors about how often to get mammograms. The task force makes that recommendation because it says that while mammograms can detect some early tumors, the scans aren’t as effective in younger women as they are in older women, and they also expose women to radiation as well as follow-up exams, anxiety and even surgery that may be unnecessary. The panel also confirmed that there is no reliable evidence that breast self-exams save lives. Who are the experts that make up the US Preventative Services Task Force? They are a collection of private sector experts in prevention and primary care commissioned by a federal agency. They rely on research generated from a dozen evidence-based practice centers located throughout the country. The task force issues summaries of medical evidence; it is up to others to decide whether and how the use that evidence. But many people feared that the report might affect their medical insurance coverage.