Because mastectomy should never be an outpatient procedure!
For at least 10 years Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has been trying to get legislation passed in Congress that would mandate insurance companies to pay for at least two nights of hospitalization for women having mastectomies. She has introduced her bill, called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, five times. Each time it has been consigned to languish in committees.
This year she has agan reintroduced the bill. It is HR 758 this time around, and again it has been assigned to several committees. In fact, here's the list of committees to which it has been referred before action can be taken:
The corresponding Senate bill (S. 459 ) has also been assigned to committees: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Lifetime has a petition in support of this legislation and of course I encourage you to sign it. But sometimes petitions are not enough. Clearly this is one of those times. What we need now is a direct call-in, letter-writing, and email campaign.Use the "Speak Out" box on the left side bar to locate your Senators and Representative. Call them or email them to tell them, very simply, that you don't think that mastectomy should ever be an outpatient or overnight procedure and that insurance companies should not be allowed to override doctors when it comes to providing proper care for a patient.
Mastectomy surgery is major surgery. Women need the kind of care that can best be provided by nurses and doctors in the days immediately following a mastectomy.
These bills will be allowed to expire in committee again, for the fifth time, if we don't loudly draw attention to the issue.
If you do write, I encourage you to leave a copy of your letter as a comment here. That will help others who want to write but aren't sure how to get started.
My letter
Lolita Wolf
http://lolitawolf.blogspot.com/
Thanks Lolita!
...because public space really matters!
Elizabeth
drive thru mastectomy?
this sounds like a variation of the drive thru delivery laws that were passed a few years ago. i signed the petition and will try to get it out to others...
as a nurse, it's absolutely appalling that any insurance company could possibly think that a mastectomy is a same day/overnight surgery. it's definitely major surgery.
sometimes i am grateful for the NHS...but here it's a matter of getting a diagnosis and date for the surgery in the first place! once you finally get in, you can linger for days....
England v. US on women's health care
TracyA, I'd love to know if you have any other comparisons between the US and England relating specifically to women's health care. You've lived for significant periods of time in each country. Do you feel like your own health is better maintained in one place over the other?
...because public space really matters!
Elizabeth
women's healthcare on the NHS
it's weird because they take a much more relaxed attitude here. they call a pap smear, a cervical smear and it is as basic as it sounds. they could have sent me the swab and i could have done it myself, no actual exam, in the US sense and it's only allowed every three years. i am having some heavy bleeding and am going to have an actual exam of my female organs in a few weeks for the first time in over 4 years! while i have had two mamograms in the US in my 40's, they are not allowed here on the NHS until your 50th birthday.
saying all that though, cancer has become a BIG concern with the NHS and any suspicious lump/result will be followed up by a specialist within two weeks. i can say that it does happen because i had a funny fast growing mole on my nose and i was seen in the dermatology clinic within the 2 weeks.
birth control/morning after pill, sexually transmitted disease/HIV clinics and abortion services are freely and widely available from the NHS. although a co worker went to an out of hours NHS clinic on a sunday asking for the morning after pill and was refused because they only provide (free)emergency contraception when another method has failed. however that's only a case of limited resources, they can easily be obtained (for a fee) from a chemist.
i am a huge supporter of nationalized healthcare, even though the NHS is basic and simple, it is free to all people who are here legally at the point of service. there is a misconception that it is "FREE", it is not.... i think i pay more here than i paid for insurance in the US but it does cover everyone and that is a very good thing for a society.
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