If you have any questions, please contact DOP Headquarters.
Contact your Rep today.  GO TO THIS WEBSITE: http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/index.html and find your
Congressman; then call, write or e-mail to ask for their co-sponsorship of H.R. 209.

Breast Cancer Measure Passes in U.S. House

The U.S. House passed bills on September 25 to improve hospital care for breast cancer patients and
boost research into the environmental causes of the disease. The first bill (HR 758), would prohibit
insurance companies from limiting hospital stays for women who have undergone treatment in connection
with a mastectomy or lumpectomy to less than 48 hours — or 24 hours in the case of lymph node
dissections — unless an attending physician gives express instruction for a shorter period.  Insurance
restrictions force about two-thirds of the 125,000 women per year in the U.S. who have mastectomies to
leave the hospital within a few hours of surgery. The minimum stay requirements would apply to all health
insurance plans.  Currently, 20 states in the U.S. mandate coverage for minimum hospital stays after a
patient undergoes a mastectomy. The measure heads to the Senate on a bill S 459.

The second bill passed (HR 1157), would authorize $40 million in additional annual spending — through
fiscal 2012 — to the National Institutes of Health for research-related activities. Although the bill does not
mandate specific research, it is intended to prompt studies on the relationship between breast cancer
and the environment. The bill sets up an Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research
Coordinating Committee to make recommendations and solicit proposals for breast cancer research.