Mastectomy Bill

(This is copied from an e-mail - I normally hate petition forwards, but this one seems legit, and an issue I think is important. Snopes verified that this e-mail is true, but also notes that the best course of action is to contact your state representative directly. Why not do both?)

If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy" where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on.

You can read more about this & sign the online petition here:
http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php

If you don't know how to contact your Congressional representative, you can look up their info at the link below:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/