Popular breast cancer reconstruction procedure could soon be harder to get | ANF Investigates

A recent change in insurance could soon make it harder for breast cancer survivors to get a common type of reconstruction surgery.

It’s because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that administers Medicare and works with state governments to provide Medicaid, is considering dropping the specific billing code for DIEP Flap procedures. The treatment involves surgically removing tissue from the lower belly, shaping it and then attaching it to the chest in the form of a new breast.

This potential coding change has already garnered outcry from some breast cancer survivors.