Tip: Mammogram coverage extended

The government is now covering the full cost of a mammogram for Medicare recipients. Previously, most Medicare recipients were responsible for a 20 percent co-payment for the breast cancer-screening procedure.

Additionally, under the new health-care law passed last year, private health plans are required to cover many preventive services without charging a co-payment or deductible. This includes an annual mammogram for women 40 and older.

The changes come amid a new study, presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium last month, that found only 50 percent of women older than 40 got a mammogram in 2009.

The American Cancer Society recommends women 40 and older get a mammogram every year. Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths among women, behind lung cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.