[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 154 (Friday, September 26, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             BREAST CANCER

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 23, 2008

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Breast Cancer Patient 
Protection Act, and I am proud to be a cosponsor of this important 
bill. In New Jersey, 132 of every 100,000 of our mothers, daughters, 
and grandmothers were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2000 and 
2004. It is difficult to find a person who doesn't know someone who is 
affected by it.
  Despite the prevailing medical standard of two to four days to 
recuperate and gain physical and emotional strength after breast cancer 
surgeries, ``drive-by mastectomies'' increasingly have become the norm. 
Women have been regularly faced with being sent home from the hospital 
a few hours after surgery by HMOs that refuse to pay for longer stays.
  This bill would guarantee a minimum hospital stay of 48 hours for a 
woman having a mastectomy, and 24 hours for a woman undergoing a lymph 
node removal. Importantly, this bill will ensure that any decision to 
have a shorter hospital stay will be made by the patient and her 
doctor--not an insurance company more concerned with the bottom line 
than the health of the patient.
  Forcing women to leave the hospital too soon after surgery is 
dangerous and demeaning. This bill will provide breast cancer patients 
undergoing one of the most physically and emotionally traumatic 
experiences of their lives, the care and dignity they deserve. I urge 
my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I hope the Senate 
acts quickly to get this bill to the President's desk.

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