HR 9693 119th Congress
Patients First Act of 2026
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to modify certain physician payments under the Medicare program.
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Introduction Congress.gov
Introduced
Introduced in the House.
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Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Open bill recordOfficial action Congress.gov
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Open bill recordOfficial action Congress.gov
Introduced in House
Open bill recordOfficial action Congress.gov
Introduced in House
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Introduced in House
A dated text-version record is available.
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| Date and time | Record | Official detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| IntroductionIntroduced | Introduced in the House. | Congress.gov | |
| Official actionReferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. | No additional detail supplied.IntroReferral · House floor actions · Code H11100 | Congress.gov | |
| Official actionReferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. | No additional detail supplied.IntroReferral · House floor actions · Code H11100 | Congress.gov | |
| Official actionIntroduced in House | No additional detail supplied.IntroReferral · Library of Congress · Code Intro-H | Congress.gov | |
| Official actionIntroduced in House | No additional detail supplied.IntroReferral · Library of Congress · Code 1000 | Congress.gov | |
| Text versionIntroduced in House | A dated text-version record is available. | Congress.gov |
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Congressional Research Service
CRS summary
Patients First Act of 2026This bill modifies payments and incentive programs under the Medicare physician fee schedule.The bill establishes a temporary program to provide hybrid payments for certain primary care services. Under the program, payments for services relating to care management, behavioral health integration, office-based evaluation and management (including telehealth), and communications (e.g., phone calls) are made on a monthly basis to providers for each individual that is attributed to the provider's practice. The monthly amount is based on the national average amount for such services. Providers may opt into the model; in order to qualify, providers must be owned or controlled by health care practitioners and must have had the majority of their prior year's payments consist of payments for the covered services.The bill also renames the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and modifies the program to include performance measures relating to care efficiency (e.g., reducing avoidable hospitalizations). (MIPS is an incentive program under Medicare that allows health professionals to receive payment adjustments based on certain performance measures.) The bill generally reduces the program's performance-based payment adjustments, including positive adjustments for providers that are not owned or controlled by health care practitioners.Finally, the bill allows for larger annual adjustments to the Medicare physician fee schedule and bases these adjustments on inflation. It also requires certain corrections to compensate for expenditures under the fee schedule that exceed a certain amount in a given year, and it limits how much certain adjustment factors may vary each year.
Official documents
Text versions
- Introduced in HouseJul 15, 2026