Oregon Becomes First State to Guarantee Insurance Coverage for Advanced Breast Reconstruction

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed Senate Bill 1137, ensuring that health insurers must now cover autologous breast reconstruction surgery, which uses the patient’s own tissue rather than implants.

Signing the bill puts Oregon, the first state in the nation to guarantee access to advanced breast reconstruction surgery for women post-mastectomy, at the forefront of the muscle-preserving medical procedure, which was inspired by Gail Menasco of Bend, the founder of the nonprofit BRA Society, which lobbied for the bill to be passed.

The new law means women who would previously have been denied access to the procedure due to insurance limitations can now seek out-of-network care when local options are not available.

The law also ensures women have access to state-of-the-art breast reconstruction surgery.

Senate Bill 1137- now signed into law- has set a precedent for other states to follow.