Industry Urges Support of Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act

• By Laurie Watanabe
• Sep 28, 2023

With October approaching quickly, advocates for the Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act will be looking to rally support for the bill, which would expand prosthetics choices for breast cancer patients and survivors.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) in July “to ensure that breast cancer patients and survivors who have had a mastectomy are able to access custom breast prosthetics under Medicare,” Chu and Miller-Meeks said in a news announcement. “The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act would provide coverage for custom-fabricated breast prostheses to the more than 100,000 women who undergo mastectomies annually.”

The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act would require Medicare to cover custom inserts, described in the news announcement as meant for “women who want breast prosthetics that are the appropriate size and skin color, but choose not to undergo a complete reconstructive surgery.”

The bill has been endorsed by several consumer organizations, including Susan B. Komen, the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, and Living Beyond Cancer.

Visitors to the People for Quality Care Web site can go to the Let Her Decide page to send an e-mail to their Members of Congress to voice support for the bill.

The People for Quality Care site, hosted by Essentially Women and VGM Group, noted that custom breast prostheses could be good options if surgical reconstruction is contraindicated by medical history or diagnosis; if off-the-shelf prostheses are not available to match the patient’s size, shape, or skin tone; if cancer surgery creates areas that are difficult to fit with flat-backed off-the-shelf prostheses; and if off-the-shelf prostheses are too heavy and hot, possibly resulting in weight-related back and shoulder injuries.