Oregon lawmakers close loophole in breast reconstruction coverage
The Oregon Senate has tightened language in state statutes to force insurers to cover reconstruction after partial breast removal or lumpectomies, according to The Register-Guard (Eugene, Ore.).
The unanimous vote by the Oregon Senate closes a loophole that allowed health insurance companies to deny that reconstructive coverage, according to the report. Some companies had claimed that the existing law only called for coverage upon full mastectomy, a position that they used as the basis for their denials, the newspaper added.
ASPS member Dann Leonard, MD, Salem, Ore., told the newspaper that he's experienced multiple denials of related coverage over the last three years. Dr. Leonard brought the issue to Oregon legislators earlier this year, and Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Eugene, sponsored the recently passed bill.
The House and Senate passage of H.B. 3616 was "a no-brainer," Rep. Hoyle told The Register-Guard.
Dr. Leonard said the recent Senate action has exerted a profound impact upon him. "I don't have much experience with politics, but this feels positive for the whole process of democracy," he told the newspaper.
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