Patient Protection Act and Breast Cancer
The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act is a bill before Congress. The bill seeks to require insurance companies to cover hospitals stays for at least 48 hours after a breast cancer patient undergoes a mastectomy procedure. Presently, the bill is under consideration.
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Origin
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U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, first sponsored the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act in 1997. She presented it to the 105th Congress, but it was never brought to the floor for a vote. DeLauro's bill sought to amend the Public Health Service Act and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by requiring health insurance companies and plans to cover hospital stays for mastectomy patients for at least 48 hours after the procedure.
Continued History
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DeLauro's initial bill was referred to numerous congressional committees where it languished until expiration. DeLauro then sponsored the bill another five times, presenting it to the 106th Congress in 1999, the 107th Congress in 2001, 108th Congress in 2003, the 109th Congress in 2005 and finally the 110th Congress in 2007. Each time the bill faced the same fate as the initial bill. It was sent to committee where it languished and died. In 2008, the House took up H.R. 758, which was a revised version of DeLauro's 2007 bill, the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2007. H.R. 758 passed, but the bill was not approved by the Senate before the 110th Congress came to an end.
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Current Status
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DeLauro sponsored the bill again along with U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, in 2009. Together they presenting it to the 111th Congress as H.R. 1691, the Breast Cancer Patient Act of 2009. At the same time, Senators Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, introduced the same bill, known as S. 688, in the Senate. Both the House and Senate versions of the bill are currently being reviewed. H.R. 1691 was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Oct. 8, 2009 and S. 688 was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on March 24, 2009.
Supporters
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The Advocacy & Public Affairs Department of Lifetime, a TV network; along with actress Marcia Cross of "Desperate Housewives"; singer Jewel; the Susan G. Komen Foundation; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and the American Cancer Society have publicly supported this bill.
Petition
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The Lifetime network sponsors a petition in support of this bill on its website. Interested persons can find and sign this petition at http://www.mylifetime.com/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition
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