Tag: Custom Breast Prostheses

An Amy Schumer standup special I watched recently on Netflix had me thinking about the latest iteration of legislation that seeks to require Medicare to pay for custom breast forms.  Schumer was talking about a common women’s health condition she was seeking treatment for.   “Oh, we haven’t studied that yet,” she deadpans, “because it only affects women.”   Cue Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who introduced the Breast Cancer Patient...

WASHINGTON – Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have re-introduced The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act, a bill that would provide Medicare coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses.  The bill is a companion bill to H.R. 4779, introduced in July by Reps. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa.  “We can do so much more to help patients and survivors of breast cancer fully recover and achieve the best quality of life,”...

WASHINGTON — Reps. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, have reintroduced the bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act, which would provide Medicare coverage of custom breast prostheses to breast cancer survivors.  The bill, H.R. 4779, would allow hundreds of thousands of women each year to choose a custom prosthesis after a mastectomy.  “This is a great step forward in our efforts to expand access to life-changing health care for breast cancer...

WORCESTER, Mass. – It’s been 12 years since Mary Walsh Aframe first lugged a suitcase full of women’s health products to the office of Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., to shine a spotlight on the lack of Medicare reimbursement for such items, which are often deemed “medically unnecessary.” Walsh Aframe, who was recently named the 2022 Essentially Women Ruth Addison Award Winner at this year’s Focus Conference, hasn’t let up since, and plans to meet with McGovern...

WASHINGTON – Supporters of women’s health legislation to increase access to custom breast prostheses and compression garments hope to gain needed momentum this fall to get their bills passed before the end of the year, they say.  The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act of 2021 would provide coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses. The House bill, H.R. 3087, sponsored by Judy Chu, D-Calif, has 15 co-sponsors; the Senate companion bill, S. 2051, co-sponsored by Sens. Tammy...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on June 15 re-introduced legislation to ensure that breast cancer patients and survivors who have had a mastectomy are able to access custom breast prosthetics under Medicare.  The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act of 2021 would provide coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses – which, unlike other prosthetic devices, aren’t covered by Medicare – to more than 100,000 women who undergo...

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan bill that would require Medicare to cover custom breast prostheses was introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday.The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act, H.R. 6980, is co-sponsored by Rep. Rob Blum, R-Iowa, and Judy Chu, D-Calif.“I am proud to introduce this bipartisan bill with my colleague, Democrat Rep. Chu, to provide women with coverage of more options following a mastectomy,” said Blum in a press release. “As breast cancer rates continue to...