DeLauro on the Issues | Legislation

Legislation Introduced by Congresswoman DeLauro

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Click here to view Rosa's speech on the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act.

Summary

The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act

The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act was first introduced by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) in 1996, after she met with Dr. Kristen Zarfos, a Connecticut surgeon who found herself constantly battling with insurance companies to keep her breast cancer patients in the hospital following mastectomy surgery. DeLauro has introduced the legislation in every Congress since that time. In 2005, the bill has been re-introduced by DeLauro and Congresswoman Sue Kelly (R-NY), and by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in the Senate.

Despite a prevailing medical standard of two to four days to recuperate and gain physical and emotional strength, insurance companies often refuse to cover a hospital stay and women find themselves forced to leave the hospital before they are ready -- sometimes just hours after surgery.

In fact, a study by the Connecticut Office of Health Care Access showed that the average length of stay for breast cancer patients in Connecticut and across the nation are decreasing, and it is decreasing faster for mastectomies than for other inpatient discharges. The report found that at a time when the average length of stay for all inpatient discharges fell by 23 percent, the average length of stay for all mastectomy discharges dropped by a startling 42.5 percent.

The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act would:

• Guarantee a minimum hospital stay of 48 hours for a woman having a mastectomy or lumpectomy, and 24 hours for a woman undergoing a lymph node removal;

• Require health plans to include notice of these benefits in their monthly mailing and yearly information packet sent to plan participants;

• Require plans to provide full coverage of second opinions should the patient seek one.

The bill does not mandate a 48 hour hospital stay; nor does it set 48 hours as a maximum amount of time a woman can stay in the hospital. It simply ensures that any decision in favor of a shorter or longer hospital stay will be made by the patient and her doctor. This bipartisan bill is modeled after the carefully crafted and widely-supported legislation that ended "drive-through" deliveries. More than 11 million Americans have signed a petition organized by Lifetime Television calling for passage of this legislation.

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