I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 536
To amend the Public Health Service Act and Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 to require that group and individual health insur-
ance coverage and group health plans provide coverage for a minimum
hospital stay for mastectomies and lymph node dissections performed
for the treatment of breast cancer.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 8, 2001
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. EHRLICH, Mr.
PALLONE, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. HORN, Mrs. MALONEY of
New York, Mr. TIERNEY, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. FARR of California, Mr.
BROWN of Ohio, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. MCNULTY, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE
JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. FILNER,
Mr. PHELPS, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. MCINTYRE,
Ms. WATERS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. BARRETT, Mr. QUINN, Mr. SHOWS,
Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BORSKI, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr. HIN-
CHEY, Mr. HILLIARD, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. BOUCHER, Mrs.
ROUKEMA, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BURTON of Indiana,
Mr. KING, Mr. HOYER, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. OLVER, Mr. WEINER, Mr.
REYES, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. FROST, Mr. ROSS, Mr. TRAFI-
CANT, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr.
COOKSEY, Mr. MATSUI, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of
California, Mr. WYNN, Ms. LEE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr.
BALDACCI, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. JEFFERSON,
Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr.
DELAHUNT, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mrs. LOWEY,
Mr. SIMMONS, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr.
FRANK, Mr. KLECZKA, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. MOAKLEY, Mr. LANTOS, Mr.
COSTELLO, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Ms. HART, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms.
SLAUGHTER, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. BOYD, Ms.
ESHOO, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. RUSH, Mr.
MENENDEZ, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. SAWYER, Mrs. CLAY-
TON, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, and Mr. LEVIN) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Work-
force, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act and Employee Re-
tirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require that
group and individual health insurance coverage and
group health plans provide coverage for a minimum hos-
pital stay for mastectomies and lymph node dissections
performed for the treatment of breast cancer.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Breast Cancer Patient
Protection Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. COVERAGE OF MINIMUM HOSPITAL STAY FOR CER-
TAIN BREAST CANCER TREATMENT.
(a) GROUP HEALTH PLANS.—
(1) PUBLIC
HEALTH
SERVICE
ACT
AMEND-
MENTS.—(A) Subpart 2 of part A of title XXVII of
the Public Health Service Act is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 2707. STANDARDS RELATING TO BENEFITS FOR CER-
TAIN BREAST CANCER TREATMENT.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS FOR MINIMUM HOSPITAL STAY
FOLLOWING MASTECTOMY
OR LYMPH NODE DISSEC-
TION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this
section shall not apply with respect to health insur-
ance coverage if there is a State law (as defined in
section 2723(d)(1)) for a State that regulates such
coverage that is described in any of the following
subparagraphs:
‘‘(A) Such State law requires such cov-
erage to provide for at least a 48-hour hospital
length of stay following a mastectomy per-
formed for treatment of breast cancer and at
least a 24-hour hospital length of stay following
a lymph node dissection for treatment of breast
cancer.
‘‘(B) Such State law requires, in connec-
tion with such coverage for surgical treatment
of breast cancer, that the hospital length of
stay for such care is left to the decision of (or
required to be made by) the attending provider
in consultation with the woman involved.
‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.—Section 2762(a) shall
not be construed as superseding a State law de-
scribed in paragraph (1).’’.
(2) Section 2762(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
300gg–62(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 2751’’
and inserting ‘‘sections 2751 and 2753’’.