There have been whispers for years of a Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, but few know much (if anything) about it. Now, everyone from Lifetime Television to Marcia Cross is lobbying for Congress to pass this bill but it still hasn't succeeded. What gives?

The Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act would require that insurance companies allow a woman receiving a mastectomy to have at least a 48-hour stay in the hospital after the procedure, if she and her doctor think it's necessary for her health and safety.

Why is the bill necessary? Click here to keep reading after the jump.


The recovery period for mastectomies can be painful and difficult -- and can be anywhere from a few days or a few weeks, depending on the severity of the case. However, insurance companies, faced with rising health-care costs, are trying to cut corners by making mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Many private insurance companies no longer cover even a 24-hour hospital stay for mastectomy patients. And some women get stuck with a "drive-through mastectomy" where they're forced to leave the hospital just a few hours after the procedure. Some women have reported getting infections as a result of leaving the hospital too soon.

The bill was first introduced in Congress in 1996 by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and has been proposed multiple times since then. Most recently the bill passed the House in September 2008 for the first time, but has yet to become law. It now awaits a vote in the Senate.

Lifetime Television, in the meantime, has created a petition calling for Congress to pass this legislation. Over the last 11 years, they've gathered more than 23 million online signatures. Congresswoman DeLauro now has Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Senators Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) sponsoring the Senate version of the bill.

So what can you do to help? Sign the petition and call on Congress to take action. We know this bill may seem less pressing than others, especially during the current economic crisis, but women's health issues cannot and should not be marginalized by our legislators. More voices of support may finally get this bill the attention it needs in Congress.

Nisha Chittal is Associate Editor of CitizenJanePolitics.com and blogs at Politicoholic. She has written for ReadWriteWeb, the European Courier, and UniversityChic.com, and is passionate about women's issues, new media and politics.