![]() ![]() Common reasons given as to why women had discontinued their use included discomfort, and their lymphoedema was stable. Use of compression garments was driven by women's beliefs that they were vulnerable to progression of their disease and that compression would prevent its worsening. Even when accounting for severity of swelling, type of garment(s) and advice given for use varied across participants. Data were analysed using principal component analysis and multivariable logistic regression.Ĭompression garments had been prescribed to 83% of 201 women with lymphoedema within the last 5 years, although 37 women had discontinued their use. The survey included questions related to the participants' demographics, breast cancer and lymphoedema medical history, prescription and use of compression garments and their beliefs about compression and lymphoedema. But it has gone nowhere.This aim of this study was to determine the use of compression garments by women with lymphoedema secondary to breast cancer treatment and factors which underpin use.Īn online survey was distributed to the Survey and Review group of the Breast Cancer Network Australia. Legislation to provide Medicare coverage for lymphedema diagnosis and treatment has been repeatedly introduced in Congress since 2002. Compression garments do not meet the definition for any category of covered services. That option is not available to Medicare beneficiaries. “It should be what that patient and their doctor determine is required.” ![]() “It shouldn’t be a certain number,” Cronick said, referring to the number of garments covered under health plans. She filed a complaint against the insurer with the Department of Labor, according to documents Cronick provided. The insurer changed its policy the following year to allow patients with post-mastectomy garments to go beyond their limit.Īfter Cronick switched to her husband’s health plan, she received other denials that she was forced to appeal, she said. The case ended in 2013 with the insurer doubling the number of garments it covered. Maryland’s took effect this year.Ĭronick, who is a board member of the Lymphedema Advocacy Group, ultimately appealed to the insurer, and then an outside reviewer in New York, for more coverage. Virginia’s law, from 2004, was the nation’s first. It applies to employer-based plans, as well as those that people buy on the individual market.Ī handful of states, including Maryland and Virginia, have laws requiring health plans subject to state regulation to cover lymphedema treatment, including supplies such as compression garments. The law requires insurers that provide coverage for mastectomies to also cover complications related to the procedure, including these socks and sleeves. The 1998 federal Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act has helped some patients get insurers to cover their compression garments. Garments should be replaced two to four times a year, Rockson said. Some patients need custom garments because the standard size cannot adequately accommodate the affected area. When made to order, the price can jump to $960. One pair of waist-high stockings costs $159 off the shelf. ![]() A standard-fit arm sleeve costs $81, but a custom-made equivalent can run $202, according to the Lymphedema Advocacy Group, a patient volunteer organization seeking a federal mandate for insurance coverage. ![]()
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