Women's Health and Cancer Rights Conforming Amendments of 2001

H.R. 887, the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Conforming Amendments of 2001, seeks to update the Internal Revenue Code to ensure that group health plans provide coverage for reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy. This bill aims to align tax laws with existing health standards by requiring insurance plans to cover all stages of reconstruction on the breast on which the mastectomy was performed, as well as surgery on the other breast to produce a symmetrical appearance. For patients, this means that the costs associated with physical complications of a mastectomy, including lymphedema and prostheses, would be legally protected under federal tax-related health regulations.