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 Leahy Hails President’s Support Of Bill Targeting `Drive-Through` Breast Cancer SurgeriesFebruary 1997 Sen. Patrick Leahy says President Clinton’s State of the Union reference on Feb. 4 to a bill that would ensure adequate hospital stays for breast cancer surgery patients "vastly improves our chances of getting it passed." "This legislation puts these
medical decisions back in the hands of each patient and her doctor," said
Leahy, a leading Senate cosponsor of the bipartisan bill, which was introduced
Jan. 21 in the House by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and in the Senate by
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
The length of hospitalizations
for mastectomies and lymph node dissections during the last decade has
dwindled as insurers have pressured doctors and hospitals to cut costs
by performing them as outpatient surgeries. The bill would allow a minimum
stay of 48 hours for mastectomies and 24 hours for lymph node removals,
unless physicians and patients elect shorter stays.
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