My first response was to be horrified that this procedure is happening as outpatient surgery.  Women with HMOs are more likely to receive mastectomies in this manner than are women with Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance.  Location matters too... women in some states are more likely to have short recovery times than are women elsewhere in the country.  My maternal Aunt had a radical double mastecomy at age 65, and her recovery was lengthy, both physically and mentally.  I can not even imagine her having to leave the hospital, scared and still requiring skilled phsyical care, hours after the operation.  However, that's apparently what some women and doctors prefer.  While some women suffer from poor post-surgical care when receiving outpatient mastectomy surgery, other women were reportedly more satisfied and felt more in control recovering at home.  However, this does not change the need for the legislation... decisions about post-surgical care and recovery should be guided by women and their doctors, not by insurance companies.