By TRACEY DRURY
tdrury@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1609

Western New York health insurers say they plan to continue covering the costs of prostate cancer screenings, despite recent findings that testing results in little reduction in mortality.

On Friday, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said prostate-specific antigen-based (PSA) screening results in small or no reduction in prostate cancer-specific mortality. Additionally, the task force said such testing could actually be harmful, as it subjects individuals to subsequent evaluation and treatments, some of which may be unnecessary.

The findings set off a flurry of national media coverage over the weekend, with cancer organizations denouncing the task force and reaffirming their calls for early testing.

Officials at BlueCross BlueShield of WNY and Univera Health say they have no plans to change their policies at this time for PSA testing. Univera also pointed to New York state requirements regarding reimbursement. Dr. Thomas Foels, Independent Health's chief medical officer, said the company will continue to encourage informed decision-making between patients and physicians.

"Informed decision-making between the doctor and patient is important because of the growing body of evidence and expert opinion, which questions the value and recognizes the potential harms in routine PSA screening and subsequent treatment," he said.

All three insurers have been working with area urologists and prostate cancer specialists for more than a year to study best practices regarding routine PSA screening.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation said Friday it supports continued routine PSA screening of informed patients until new American Urological Association clinical guidelines on PSA screening are issued and disseminated.

A statement from Roswell Park Cancer Institute said it continues to follow and endorse the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for both early detection and treatment of prostate cancer. It said the decision to have a PSA test to detect prostate cancer early is a personal choice and should be made after careful consideration and consultation with an informed physician.

Roswell Park also pointed out that prostate cancer mortality in America has fallen by 40 percent since the introduction of the PSA test. Dr. Donald Trump, hospital president, told a hematology and oncology magazine the task force recommendations reflect the difficulty in showing that PSA screening saves lives.