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This bill requires a group health plan or a health issuer offering group health insurance coverage that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. This bill prohibits such a plan or issuer from restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection.

This bill ensures that after breast cancer surgery, a woman will have 48 hours to recuperate in the hospital, no matter which State she lives in or what insurance coverage she has. The patient is not mandated to stay in the hospital for 48 hours, but the decision should be made by the patient and doctor and not by an insurance company.

The bill also ensures that coverage is provided for secondary consultations (on terms and conditions that are no more restrictive than those applicable to the initial consultations) by specialists in the appropriate medical fields to confirm or refute a diagnosis of cancer.

S.688 was introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) on 3/24/09 and has 11 cosponsors. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions.

H.R.1691 was introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro on 3/24/09 and has 208 original cosponsors. It was referred to the Committees on Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, and Education & Labor.

Rep. Delauro introduced a similar bill in the previous Congress that overwhelmingly passed this House last year by a vote of 421-2 and it had 223 cosponsors.