In early February, the Oregon Senate unanimously passed a bill requiring insurance companies to cover diagnostic tests for patients who may have cervical cancer. The House also passed it unanimously two weeks later. (Photo: Laura Tesler/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Dr. Carrie Frederick can recall many cases during her 14 years of practice in Oregon in which patients tried to negotiate forgoing cervical cancer diagnostic tests because of the cost.
The test, which usually comes after someone has already undergone abnormal screening, can range from $200 to $1,200 out of pocket.
Oregon will become the first state in the nation to require insurers to cover treatment for cervical cancer patients, and the policy could expand nationwide if up-to-date federal regulations go into effect early next year.
Both houses of the Oregon Legislature passed Bill was unanimously adopted on Wednesday, February 25 and awaits the signature or veto of Democratic Governor Tina Kotek. The provision will become law within a week, even if he doesn’t sign it, and will apply to plans starting January 1, 2027.
Cervical cancer is one of the few types of cancer that can be treated in its pre-cancerous stage, so screening is recommended every three to five years for women aged 21 to 65. It is also a cancer that According to experts, this can be preventeddue to the availability of the HPV vaccine for people under 26 years of age, preferably before exposing them to the virus that most often causes cervical cancer through sexual contact.
Advocates say wide access to low- or no-cost reproductive health care helps prevent cervical cancer for the most vulnerable in society. However, many clinics offering this service have had to do so close or limit services over the past year and a half after approval by the U.S. Congress keen cuts to Medicaid.
Oregon has a lower rate of cervical cancer cases per year than many other states. Jane Leo, Oregon government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said 140 cases were diagnosed statewide in 2025, with the same number or more expected in 2026. The organization estimates that in 2025, 13,360 up-to-date cases will be diagnosed across the country.
Leo said the cancer organization aims to eliminate cost sharing for all cancer treatments nationwide, and bills like Oregon’s are an crucial step.
“I hope my colleague in Washington will now insist,” Leo said. “You have to start somewhere, and I’m proud that Oregon was the first state to do it.”
When a routine Pap smear screening shows abnormal cervical cells, your obstetrician-gynecologist can gather more information about whether the cells are cancerous by performing a more thorough examination called a colposcopy. This procedure is more targeted, and Frederick said the medical community recommends a maximum of four biopsies, which are sent to a separate laboratory. Each biopsy has its own cost.
“I definitely found myself negotiating internally, like, can I afford two biopsies so the patient doesn’t get the bill?” said Frederick.
Frederick is the former legislative chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and began helping draft the Oregon bill in 2023. That was the year Oregon passed a similar bill on breast cancer diagnostic costs, and Frederick said he used that bill as a template.
The Cervical Cancer Screening Act was introduced for the third time in February, and its importance was underlined by Oregon Rep. Anne Hartman’s continued treatment for Stage 3 cervical cancer, which she said announced in November.
Published by the Health Resources and Services Administration up-to-date federal regulations in early January due to cervical cancer screening. In addition to the up-to-date guidelines for home testing, it included a requirement that most insurance plans must cover follow-up testing without cost sharing.
Dr. Julia Barnes, legislative chairwoman of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Oregon, said there was some question as to whether the regulations were still necessary after the up-to-date guidelines were published, but decided they should still be codified at the state level.
“It gives Oregon the authority to actually enforce this law, and federal guidelines may change,” Barnes said.
The law has minimal or no fiscal impact on Oregon’s budget, assuming federal guidance goes into effect in January, Barnes said, which helped the bill pass without opposition.
The up-to-date law is a step toward reducing the incidence of cervical cancer, which has caused 50 deaths out of 140 diagnosed in Oregon, according to the American Cancer Society. Barnes said those who are treated and survive have lingering effects of radiation on vaginal tissue and complicated surgeries.
“It’s really terrible when you see people who are either delaying their follow-up because it’s going to cost them money, or they’re not aware of it, or they’ve missed the window to get the vaccine,” Barnes said. “We’re absolutely thrilled that it’s gone. It’s been a long time coming.”
This story was originally produced by News from the USwhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes Pennsylvania Capital-Star, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
