Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act

The breast cancer patient protection act will provide more medical benefits and is explained here.

The breast cancer protection act of 2009 is a bill that has not become law yet. It will require that women or men who have mastectomies or lumpectomies be allowed to stay in the hospital for at least two days. Those who have lymph node dissection would be allowed to stay in the hospital for 24 hours.

Currently, some women must go home from their procedure after one day or must go home the same day. It is the doctor, the hospital and the insurance company that makes that decision. Many women with breast cancer feel that it is too short a time to stay in the hospital only one day.

Having breast cancer is an emotional experience. Many doctors and patients feel that it is harmful to women to have to go home so early. Some legislators feel that way, too.

The bill for the Breast Cancer Protection Act of 2009 is in the first stages of the legislative process. Bills like this one first go to committees that investigate, and revise them before they go to the general House and Senate debate. Most bills don’t ever get out of committee and this one is stuck in committee.

History of the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act

The bill was introduced in March of 2009 by Rep. Rosa DeLauro. It forces health insurance companies to pay for a 48 hour stay for men and women having breast cancer surgery, such as a mastectomy, lumpectomy or lymph node dissection.

• The doctor no longer has to get authorization from the insurance company in order to get that 48 hour stay.
• Group health insurance plans cannot take legal action to prevent the 48 hour stay from happening.
• They can’t stop a patient’s insurance coverage if they have a 48 hour stay.
• The coverage would also allow for secondary consultations for breast cancer.

The bill has already gone to committee to be discussed. It has also gone to the House subcommittees to be discussed. The last action on the bill was in October of 2009, when it passed at the House of Representatives by an overwhelming margin. The bill has to go to the Senate and to the president before it can become law.

What Breast Cancer Research and Treatment Has to Say About Breast Cancer Lengths of Stay

According to the American Cancer Society and the Breast Cancer Society, about 182,000 brand new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women and about 2000 cases were diagnosed in men.

Leaving too early from breast cancer surgery because of insurance restrictions can be medically dangerous. It can also harm a woman mentally. A woman needs support and to have her questions answered before and after surgery.

The best place for this is in a hospital where medical and social support can be given.

If the bill passes in the Senate and is signed by the president, women can receive the protection and support they need around their breast cancer. Breast cancer research and treatment support this idea. Many women who have had breast cancer or know someone who had breast cancer support this idea, too.

What Breast Cancer Clinical Trials Have to Say

Breast cancer clinical trials look at the emotional impact of having breast cancer. They also look at the possible surgical and medical side effects from having breast cancer surgery.

There are medical complications from lumpectomy or mastectomy that are best handled in a hospital setting. This means that sending women home from a mastectomy or lumpectomy the same day or the next day can miss some of the complications of breast cancer. The complications can get worse if a woman is at home. Being in a hospital is the best way to handle the possible complications of breast cancer surgery.

It is also true that women get better social support in the hospital. Women who go home directly after surgery don’t get their questions answered. They don’t get help with taking care of their surgical area. According to breast cancer clinical trials, it is best to be in a hospital if complications or questions arise.

What Can You do to Help The Situation?

The Breast Cancer Society supports the law, which could help millions of men and women:

• You can write to the Breast Cancer Society to lend your support to the law.
• You can have your letters of support sent together to the nation’s senators.
• You can also look up who your senator is and email them or write them on behalf of the law.
• Your support may be all the difference in getting the law passed in the Senate.

Then women and men all over the country can get the full effect of the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act.

Dr. Christine Traxler
2 8 2010