3 ms·

She makes one point in her piece that struck me as novel: "Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an impl

She makes one point in her piece that struck me as novel: "Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. There have been many advances in this procedure in the last few years, and the results can be beautiful." Can proactive mastectomies double as cosmetic surgery? That would be an interesting wrinkle in the cost/benefit analysis. I wonder if that also wasn't one of the reasons proactive teeth removal (replaced with dentures) was once so popular.

calinet6 13y ago
They can, and I guarantee you the insurance companies will look at it that way. Hers is leaving out a huge chunk of the story: money. It will probably be called an "elective procedure" and especially if there is anything cosmetic about it. My mom had a melanoma removed from her eyelid and the costs were staggering. She had some cosmetic reconstructive surgery done to allow her face to continue to look normal. That's all: normal. They had to fight for weeks to get a good percentage of it covered—or any percentage of the cosmetic portion. I don't know entirely what the case is for a preventative mastectomy, maybe if your cancer risk is high enough your insurance will see it as a overall benefit to them, but it can't be easy or cheap to deal with at all.
- dailyrorschach 13y ago
  It's all obviously dependent on your plan - but many plans do in fact cover 100% of a mastectomy and reconstruction. Which of course makes financial sense to them if the same plan requires them to cover substantial amounts of cancer treatment and the patient has such a high risk profile. I'd need to find more sources but for one this is Aetna's policy, which it seems like Jolie would fit under due to family history and the results of her genetic testing. http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/200_299/0227.html http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/200_299/0227.html

calinet6 13y ago

They can, and I guarantee you the insurance companies will look at it that way. Hers is leaving out a huge chunk of the story: money. It will probably be called an "elective procedure" and especially if there is anything cosmetic about it. My mom had a melanoma removed from her eyelid and the costs were staggering. She had some cosmetic reconstructive surgery done to allow her face to continue to look normal. That's all: normal. They had to fight for weeks to get a good percentage of it covered—or any percentage of the cosmetic portion. I don't know entirely what the case is for a preventative mastectomy, maybe if your cancer risk is high enough your insurance will see it as a overall benefit to them, but it can't be easy or cheap to deal with at all.

dailyrorschach 13y ago
It's all obviously dependent on your plan - but many plans do in fact cover 100% of a mastectomy and reconstruction. Which of course makes financial sense to them if the same plan requires them to cover substantial amounts of cancer treatment and the patient has such a high risk profile. I'd need to find more sources but for one this is Aetna's policy, which it seems like Jolie would fit under due to family history and the results of her genetic testing. http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/200_299/0227.html http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/200_299/0227.html