Reps. Chu, Miller-Meeks Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Expand Coverage for Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representatives Judy Chu (CA-28) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) 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 would provide coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses to the more than 100,000 women who undergo mastectomies annually.

Over 4 million women in the United States have a history of breast cancer, many of whom suffer from unreconstructed breast loss. In 2023, an estimated 297,790 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, which can require surgical breast removal. Currently, breast cancer survivors must choose between two options after mastectomies: basic off-the-shelf inserts or complete reconstruction. This bill would require Medicare to cover a third option: custom inserts. Custom inserts are meant for women who want breast prosthetics that are the appropriate size and skin color but choose not to undergo a complete reconstructive surgery.

“Breast cancer survivors who have undergone a mastectomy deserve to have a full range of affordable reconstructive options,” said Rep. Chu. “There are many reasons why breast cancer patients choose not to have reconstructive surgery, and Medicare should not be limiting reasonable options that allow women to feel comfortable after fighting cancer. I’m grateful to be able to work on this bipartisan bill, and I hope we can pass it quickly so cancer survivors can finally have complete freedom of choice.”

“During such fragile times when women are dealing with the stress and toll of invasive breast cancer, line items of their insurance coverage are the furthest things from their minds,” said Rep. Miller-Meeks. “The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act takes away the burden of calculating the coverage for custom prosthetics and gives access to higher quality implants for patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer that undergo a mastectomy, regardless of their income.”

The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act is currently endorsed by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, Susan B. Komen, Young Survival Coalition, Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, Brem Foundation and Living Beyond Cancer.

Click here for the full text of the bill.