Note: Apologies in advance to non-US readers as the following entry is very US-centric.
Michael Moore’s recent documentary Sicko hopes to ignite a much-needed debate over the failing health care system in the United States. One example of changes that the health care (and particularly, the health insurance) industry are making is the “drive-through masectomy“.
This is a highly charged moniker so perhaps it is more responsible to call it by its medical name, an outpatient masectomy. A masectomy, the full or partial removal of one or both breasts, is a common procedure for dealing with breast cancer. The recovery from the procedure can be full of pain and discomfort and requires careful follow-up by the patient.
There have been occasions when some health insurance companies in the United States have proposed making this a mandatory outpatient procedure, not providing the option of a hospital stay. There is plenty evidence that masectomies can be done safely as outpatient procedures, but the question is whether the decision to do it as an outpatient procedure should rest with the patient and doctor, or with the insurer. Dr. Sidney M. Schwab writes about this debate on his blog.
For the past decade, Congress has tried to get involved in this debate and there have been several bills introduced over the years. This January, new versions of these bills were introduced as S. 459 and H.R. 119, the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Acts of 2007.
Reading through the text of the bills, the main point of them is that health insurers shall not restrict any benefits in association with a hospital stay for a masectomy or lumpectomy to less than 48 hours, nor for a lymph node dissection for the treatment of breast cancer to less than 24 hours.
Importantly, the next paragraph of the bill states that “Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the provision of inpatient coverage if the attending physician and patient determine that either a shorter period of hospital stay, or outpatient treatment, is medically appropriate”
I’m generally not in favor of Congress legislating too broadly; I have a “less is more” Libertarian streak. But this is legislation I am in favor of: it preserves the right of patients and their doctors in making the decision of how to best treat breast cancer, rather than having those decisions made by insurers based on what is financially expedient.
Would you like to lend your support?
Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” You can participate easily by contacting your Respresentative and Senators on this piece of legislation. Here’s how to do it:
All Representatives’ and Senators’ websites have the ability to receive letters from you directly; you don’t even have to buy a stamp. Take two or three minutes today to let your voice be heard and, in so doing, let democracy ring
christao408 