PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 24, 2009
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Prohibits such a plan from: (1) restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection, insofar as the attending physician, in consultation with the patient, determines such stay to be medically necessary; or (2) requiring that a provider obtain authorization from the plan or issuer for prescribing any such length of stay.
Requires such a plan or issuer to: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act; and (2) ensure that coverage is provided for secondary consultations.
Prohibits a group health plan from taking specified actions to avoid the requirements of this Act.
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Applies such requirements to health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market.
Allows a health insurance issuer that provides individual health insurance coverage to nonrenew or discontinue an individual's coverage based on the intentional concealment of material facts regarding a health condition related to the condition for which coverage is being claimed.
People & committees
Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME] · R–ME
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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