After a mastectomy, breast reconstruction is covered

Did you know? Federal law requires that most group insurance plans that cover mastectomies also must cover breast reconstruction for breast cancer patients.

Deductibles and co-pays apply, of course, but the bottom line is ensuring that women know their options and are offered breast reconstruction surgery, whether immediately after a mastectomy, after other breast cancer treatments are done, or later.

“This coverage is so important for women with breast cancer,” says Dr. Elizabeth O’Connor of Plastic Surgery & Skin Specialists by BayCare Clinic. She is a plastic surgeon who is fellowship trained in reconstructive breast surgery.

“It’s important that they know how and when they can have reconstructive surgery after a mastectomy.”

Even so, most women who have a mastectomy for breast cancer do not have breast reconstruction surgery, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The federal Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act, signed into law in 1998, requires that post-mastectomy benefits cover:

• Rebuilding a breast.
• Surgery or reconstruction of the other breast to make both look symmetrical or balanced.
• External breast prostheses or forms needed before or during reconstructive surgery.

To learn more about breast reconstruction surgery after a mastectomy, please call 920-288-8240. You also may request an appointment online.

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