Christine Horner, MD is a nationally known surgeon, author, and professional speaker residing in Taos, NM.  She holds two board certifications: the National Board of Surgery, and the National Board of Plastic Surgery.  Dr. Horner was recognized as a leader in her field shortly after starting her plastic and reconstructive surgery practice because she successfully ran a national campaign to pass laws requiring insurance companies to pay for breast reconstruction following mastectomy.  Her five year crusade -- the Breast Reconstruction Advocacy Project or BRA Project -- led to the passage of laws in thirty-five states and a federal law. The federal bill was signed into law by President Clinton on October 21, 1998.  The law was unprecedented because it was the first law Congress had ever passed requiring insurance companies to pay for a specific surgical procedure.  Her campaign involved several meetings with President Clinton and Hillary Clinton, Senator’s Ted Kennedy and Alfonse D’Amato, and Representatives Anna Eshoo and Sue Kelly.  

Dr. Horner received a tremendous amount of national media coverage for the campaign and was featured in dozens of national magazines including Glamour, Ms. Magazine, Elle, Allure, and Women’s Health Weekly, and newspapers including the New York Daily News, USA Today, the Detroit Free Press, the Chicago Sun Times, the Cincinnati Enquire, the Baltimore Sun and a front page feature article in the Kentucky Post. Dr. Horner has been interviewed for many television news programs including the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. In February 1999 Glamour magazine honored her as their “WOW--Woman of the Month.”  In 2000 Oprah recognized her as part of her “Angel Network” on her television program.

For over a decade, Dr. Horner worked with the American Cancer Society. She was appointed to The American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer Detection Task Force for the state of Kentucky from 1993-97, served as the ACS Spokesperson for the state of Kentucky on Breast Cancer issues from 1992- 1997, chaired the “Relay for Life” event in 1993 and 1994, served on the Board of Directors of the ACS Kentucky Division and was Vice President of the Kentucky Division in 1993-94. She worked with the National ACS office in their Medical Content Oversight Work Group for “tlc” magazine in 1997 and contributed articles to Coping Magazine. In 1994, the ACS honored Dr. Horner by awarding her the Kentucky Division Lifesaver Award. 

Dr. Horner was appointed to the Kentucky Commission on Women in 1999. She founded and served as President of the non-profit organization that ran the Breast Reconstruction Advocacy Project called the Women’s Health Advocacy Projects and was the founder, CEO and President of the Women’s Physicians Assurance Company from 1996-98.

Dr. Horner has also been recognized for her outstanding surgical abilities. In 2001 she was named by her peers as one of “Cincinnati Top Doctors. “