# 119-hr-4545: Medicare Breast Reconstruction Access and Information Act

119-hr-4545, Medicare Breast Reconstruction Access and Information Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4545
- As of: 2026-09-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-4545
- Congress: 119
- Title: Medicare Breast Reconstruction Access and Information Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-17
- Sponsor: Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 30
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-18

## Summary

**Pre-surgery patient notice and documentation about breast reconstruction coverage**. This bill would require the supplier who performs a mastectomy to tell the patient, before the surgery, that Medicare covers breast reconstruction after a medically necessary mastectomy under National Coverage Determination 140.2 and to record that discussion in the patient's medical record. Affected mastectomies furnished on or after one year after enactment would not be paid by Medicare unless those two steps are completed beforehand. - Patients: People getting a mastectomy would receive explicit, preoperative notice that breast reconstruction is covered and that this discussion will be entered in their medical record. This aims to make coverage information clearer at the point of care. - Providers and suppliers: Hospitals, surgeons, and other suppliers would need to add a pre-surgery step to inform patients and document it in charts. Failure to document could lead to denied Medicare payment for that mastectomy. - Medicare program: Payment for covered mastectomies would be conditioned on supplier compliance with the notice and documentation rule, tied to National Coverage Determination 140.2.

## Cosponsors (30)

- Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29] (D-TX), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25] (D-FL), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6] (D-MI), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6] (D-LA), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] (D-MS), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] (D-AL), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Latimer, George [D-NY-16] (D-NY), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24] (D-FL), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33] (D-TX), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8] (D-MA), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10] (D-NJ), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila [D-FL-20] (D-FL), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6] (D-OR), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Olszewski, Johnny [D-MD-2] (D-MD), 2025-07-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rescom. Hernández, Pablo Jose [D-PR-At Large] (D-PR), 2025-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Trahan, Lori [D-MA-3] (D-MA), 2025-09-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McDonald Rivet, Kristen [D-MI-8] (D-MI), 2025-09-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Julie [D-TX-32] (D-TX), 2025-09-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT), 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Reconstruction coverage notice before Medicare mastectomy: benefit, low. If enacted, Medicare would only pay for a mastectomy starting 1 year after enactment if your provider tells you before surgery that breast reconstruction after a medically necessary mastectomy is covered by Medicare (national coverage determination 140.2). The provider would also have to note this…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act
- 119-hr-15: Equality Act
- 119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2763: American Family Act
- 119-hr-17: Paycheck Fairness Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-4545 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4545)

## Related
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5390)
- [119-hr-15: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-15)
- [119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1589)
- [119-hr-2763: American Family Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2763)
- [119-hr-17: Paycheck Fairness Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-17)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4545 (as of 2026-09-18).