Women seeking a breast reduction in Nova Scotia are waiting up to four years for the publicly covered procedure, while others are denied because of rules they say are too restrictive.

Greenwood resident Jodi Bradbury wants to alleviate her neck and back pain, but says she was denied a reduction because her breasts aren't deemed big enough to warrant surgery.

"You can imagine how difficult it is to carry that around all day," said Bradbury, a 34F.

She says she has a difficult time understanding why she doesn't qualify in Nova Scotia when she would in New Brunswick, her former home.

Nova Scotia's health insurance plan used to cover the cost of removing a minimum of 300 grams from a breast, but that was increased to 500 grams about a year ago.

Women also have to have a body mass index of 27 or less to qualify.

Too many women are excluded because of this criteria, said Dr. Richard Bendor-Samuel, a plastic surgeon in Halifax.

"We need to use [the rules] as guidelines rather than something that has to be held strictly to," he told CBC News on Tuesday.

Rules 'crazy,' says surgeon

Bendor-Samuel said one patient needed 600 grams removed from one breast and 400 grams from the other, but MSI would only approve surgery for the larger breast.

"That, quite frankly, is crazy," he said.

"We've had numerous cases where a patient is just a few pounds over the BMI of 27, where we're told she needs to lose another two pounds, then she'll be approved, and that's ludicrous."

The waiting period for the procedure is now three to four years.

Women can pay for a breast reduction themselves, but that costs between $5,000 and $7,000.

"It means a lot of women aren't getting it done," Bendor-Samuel said.

Even a reduction of 300 grams is helpful, he said, adding several studies show women felt better after the procedure.

Bendor-Samuel said he and his colleagues have made little headway when they've complained about the criteria, so he's pleased Bradbury is speaking out.

"I tell a lot of my patients they need to express their concerns to the right people so hopefully we can help them out better, but it hasn't helped with us just pleading to MSI as physicians," he said.

Bradbury presented Health Minister Chris d'Entremont with a copy of a PowerPoint presentation on the issue last week.

D'Entremont says he has asked his staff to review the current rules.