Ohio hospital group has ‘concerns’ about breast reconstruction bill

The Ohio Hospital Association (OHA) has misgivings about a proposed law that would require hospitals to provide information about breast reconstruction to mastectomy patients before they undergo their procedures.

The OHA doesn’t necessarily oppose sharing that information with those patients, it just questions whether the appropriate time to do it is right before an operation, said Bridget Gargan, OHA’s vice president of state policy and advocacy.

“OHA has significant concerns with the bill as to how it would work in the real world,” Gargan said. “The question is ‘What’s the proper timing for a woman to receive this information?’ If it’s by the time she’s in a hospital setting, it’s too late.”

Rep. Bill Patmon, D-Cleveland, the sponsor of the House’s version of the legislation, said he’ll be “flexible” in working with interested parties to arrive at a decision on when is the best time to deliver the information to patients. “I agree that it’s a tough call,” he said.

The legislation, House Bill 217 and Senate Bill 182, would apply to women receiving a mastectomy, lymph node dissection or lumpectomy. Before obtaining the patient’s consent for one of those procedures, hospitals would be required to inform patients in writing of various breast reconstruction options and insurance coverage availability.

One group that likely favors the legislation is plastic surgeons because it would result in more customers for them.

“There is no avoiding the idea that there will probably be an uptick in plastic surgery because of this, but it’s not a bad uptick,” Patmon said. He added that women sometimes fall into depressionafter undergoing mastectomies or similar operations. Patmon said his mother is a breast cancer survivor.

The Ohio State Medical Association, the state’s largest doctors’ group, didn’t offer any comment on the legislation.

Patmon’s bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Health and Aging, and has already had a hearing, he said.