Empowering Patient Choice of Medical Care Act
The Empowering Patient Choice of Medical Care Act is a bill introduced in the 119th Congress that seeks to remove the current restriction known as the inpatient-only service list. Starting January 1, 2026, the bill would prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from denying an outpatient designation to a hospital service under Medicare solely because the service was previously deemed safe only in an inpatient setting. In other words, services that were once restricted to inpatient care could instead be designated as outpatient services for Medicare purposes, expanding where and how patients can receive certain procedures. This change is intended to give patients more care options and potentially broaden the use of outpatient settings for care that might have previously required an inpatient stay.
Key Points
- 1Abolishes the inpatient-only service list, enabling more hospital services to be designated as outpatient.
- 2Effective date: January 1, 2026.
- 3The Secretary cannot refuse to designate an outpatient hospital service as outpatient based only on the belief that the service may require inpatient safety, removing that sole justification from consideration.
- 4Change concerns Medicare coverage and payment determinations under outpatient rules (Section 1833(t)(1)(B)(i) of the Social Security Act), shifting where and how services might be billed and paid.
- 5The bill references Medicare designations and the related regulatory framework, but does not specify funding or cost-offsets; implementation would require agency rulemaking and potential statutory adjustments.