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Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2007
A bill to require that health plans provide coverage for a minimum hospital stay for mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissection for the treatment of breast cancer and coverage for secondary consultations.
1/31/2007--Introduced.
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Action of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan or a health issuer offering group health insurance cover more...
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Bill Status
| Introduced |  | Voted on by Senate | | Voted on by House | | Considered By President | | Bill Becomes Law |
| January 31, 2007 |
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Blog Coverage
May 01, 2008 Just say no to drive-thru mastectomies
Senator Landrieu and Representatives DeLauro and Moran are championing the bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2007 (S.459/HR 758), which includes no mandates but allows a woman and her doctor to decide if she is best off ...
Source: Screen doors on a submarine
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April 28, 2008 CANCER AWARENESS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US
Last but not least, please see a very important announcement from Lifetime Television regarding the bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2007 (S.459/HR 758.) This act is urging Congress to end the practice of ...
Source: The Mom Squad!
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April 21, 2008 Don't be a boob. Be a bra.
My point: The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2007 (S.459/HR 758) is languishing in committee. Among other things, this bill will require insurance companies to cover in-hospital stays for mastectomy patients for a full 48 hours ...
Source: herding squirrels: Parenting in a Blended Family
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As a physician, I can tell you that a mastectomy is surgery of skin and fat. Much less invasive and painful than a tummy tuck or facelift. There's no reason why special laws need to be made regarding it. Much more painful and invasive surgeries are done as outpatient. This is just being used as a politically correct woman's issue.
I'm not sure what kind of physician you are, but obviously not a caring one! I'm guessing a vet, optometrist or dentist who took gross anatomy once your freshman year.
This is NOT the same as a tummy tuck or other elective cosmetic procedure. My advice is to go volunteer at your local cancer hospital since you obviously have no clue.
Although I don't disagree that other surgeries can be more painful or invasive, I certainly hope you (or any of your family/friends) never have to experience a mastectomy, if you are even a female physician!! It is NOT elective COSMETIC surgery. These patients are facing a diagnosis of perhaps life threatening CANCER! I can't believe as a physician you would even compare a mastectomy to cosmetic surgery. I agree with the other responder that you need to work in a cancer center for even one day.
A mastectomy is NOT an elective surgery as you've compared it to. A person who has a mastectomy is doing so to preserve their life....it's not a vanity issue. I would think as a physician you would realize the difference between a life and death issue (such as cancer) compared to a superficial need to be what society has dictated as beauty.
If you are truly a physician, I sincerely hope you are near retirement. I hope God is keeping a close eye on your patients (if you have any)
As a patient that has only a reduction surgery (was getting terrible headaches and backaches and they said it would reduce my chances for cancer later in life), I can tell that you have to be a male, and a sorry one at that. I can also tell that you have never had a mastectomy. Do you know how painful it is to try to change a dressing on yourself while laying on your back where you can't really see what you are doing, but you do it because you are too worried about letting anyone see what you look like? Do you know how mentally painful it is to ask for help from your husband (note, no longer my husband) because you "snapped" the front closure bra against your incision because you lost your grip trying to make sure you had all the guaze in the right place and his reaction was "Damn you look like Freddy Kruger got a hold of you"? No, I think not. Get a heart and get your head out of your ^$*&%$. This is not a politically correct woman's issue, it's an insurance issue.
You are obviously a male. Note that there are also multiple muscles involved. This is extremely painful when attempting to move or hold anything, including simply trying to reseat your self to get comfortable.
Please see the AMA's statement in support of the proposed bill.
While it is discouraging to see issues (case in point, obesity) that affect significantly more people than breast cancer, and have further reaching health and public health impacts lack the kind of attention that breast cancer receives, to dismiss this issue as "just being used as a politically correct woman's issue" misses the larger point - that insurance companies are attempting to take patient care out of doctor and patient hands; they are making decisions based not on patient well-being, but on providing a return to their shareholders (something that, as a corporation, they are legally bound to do). THIS is why a special law needs to be passed.
As a physician, you will still have the choice (though you may lack the ability) to look at person before you, who is in pain, and has no idea how to manage drains protruding from her skin, and send her home after a couple of hours.
I received a broadcast e-mail from a friend asking me to sign a petition for the passage of this bill - the send same request to everyone I know. As a person who has had two mastectomies (modified radical - physically and emotionally needed minimum 2 days hospital recovery time ; and simple - an overnight was appropriate) I'm interested in helping the cause. But I don't know if this petition or some other action would be appropriate at this time.
It is absolutely absurd that Mastectomies would even be considered an outpatient procedure! I have worked in the healthcare field for over 20 yrs and closely watched a very close family member go through this surgery (and helped with her recovery). It is definitely NOT an outpatient procedure!! The physical distress the body undergoes (and yes, most times drainage tubes are required), let alone the emotional/psychological distress, warrants hospitalization for a few days post surgery, at least until the drainage tubes can be removed by a professional. There are many patients that require professional counseling pre and post surgery as well, which should also be covered by medical insurance. It has been very sad for me to watch patient healthcare degrade year after year. It has turned into assembly line and drive thru type care instead of true patient care. The lay person being left responsible for medical care practices that a professional should be performing. It affects not only this particular issue, but many, many others. I truly hope this is just a start (the tip of the iceberg per say) to bringing healthcare to the standards it should be. People pay thousands of dollars for healthcare insurance, if they are fortunate enough to even afford it. Then there are usually additional medical bills on top of it and many times patients are not receiving appropriate professional care, but caring for themselves or family members. I think the people dictating these absurd insurance regulations need to experience a walk in the patients' shoes, if even for a day. A 1991 movie titled "The Doctor", starring William Hurt, illustrates the general degradation of healthcare issue fairly well.
I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma and I HAD a mastectomy with sentinel node biopsy just 4 weeks ago. I might be a bit more resilient than other women, but the 1-night stay I had in the hospital was more than enough time. Yes, I had 2 drains in place when I left the hospital--and they were in place for 7 and 10 days, respectively. I was taught what to do with them, and it's not rocket science. Yes, the surgical sites were painful and my range-of-motion isn't fully normal yet...but, other women have said the belly incision for their reconstructive surgery (i.e., "tummy tuck") was far more painful and debilitating than their mastectomy site.
I don't like insurance companies dictating medical care, but I don't like Congress dictating it, either, or making special cases for certain types of surgery. Why not do the same for appendectomies, or lung lobectomies, or joint surgery? Is it just because we're dealing with a women's issue, that this bill keeps coming up? I don't know if this is good policy, or not. I don't think so.
It's wonderful that you are "a bit more resilient" and a one night stay in the hospital "was more than enough time". Everyone is different in the way their bodies tolerate the physical aspects of an invasive surgery. Some women need the extra time in a hospital after a mastectomy for that reason alone. It seems that having a mastectomy due to cancer was not overly distressful for you....but, there are other women who believe it is a life altering event and suffer extreme emotional as well as physical conflict.
In this bill, no one is attempting to make it mandatory for a women to stay in a hospital for 48 hours following a mastectomy. This bill is to require insurance companies to cover up to
It's wonderful that you are "a bit more resilient" and a one night stay in the hospital "was more than enough time". Everyone is different in the way their bodies tolerate the physical aspects of an invasive surgery. Some women need the extra time in a hospital after a mastectomy for that reason alone. It seems that having a mastectomy due to cancer was not overly distressful for you....but, there are other women who believe it is a life altering event and suffer extreme emotional as well as physical conflict.
In this bill, no one is attempting to make it mandatory for a patient to stay in a hospital for 48 hours following a mastectomy. This bill, if passed, will require Insurance Companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It will allow doctors, who feel that their patient needs to remain in the hospital, the ability to prescribe such treatment without fear that Insurance Companies will not cover the extra time for necessary care.
This is not just a women's issue, however, it is an issue that Insurance Companies created by establishing time limits on medical care against a treating physician's wishes.
(sorry for the duplication....my computer crashed briefly before I could complete it)
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