The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Who are the members?

Its 16 volunteers include doctors, nurses and public health researchers with expertise in analyzing medical evidence. They’re appointed by Carolyn Clancy, the director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Are panelists government employees?

No. The task force was created by Congress to advise the public on ways to stay healthy, and members issue guidelines to help primary-care doctors make sense of the best and latest medical evidence, says chairwoman Virginia Moyer, a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

How does the task force grade services?

The task force gives out letter grades, based on whether a service will help or harm patients. An A rating is its highest grade. In 2009, for example, the task force suggested women ages 50 to 74 get mammograms every other year, giving the procedures a grade of B, which means there was “moderate certainty” that their benefit was “moderate to substantial” for these women. The task force gave a C rating to mammograms for women in their 40s, meaning that most women would get only a small benefit from the tests. The task force gave PSA screening a grade of D, signifying that test’s harms probably outweigh its benefits.

Does the task force base its decisions on the cost to insurance companies or health plans such as Medicare?

No, Moyer says. And none of the task force’s recent decisions will prevent patients from getting care, Moyer says. Medicare is required by law to pay for mammograms, which screen for breast cancer, and PSA tests, which screen for prostate cancer, Moyer says. Still, because Medicare can factor the task force’s conclusions into payment decisions, the group’s recommendations often cause more controversy than guidelines issued by charities and professional societies.