Diabetes Foot Health Access and Modernization Act of 2026

This bill would change Medicaid law so that doctors of podiatric medicine (foot and ankle doctors) count as physicians for Medicaid physician services, starting with services on or after January 1, 2026. States that need to pass their own laws to comply would get extra time, until after their next regular legislative session. The bill would also rewrite Medicare's rules for covering extra-depth or custom molded shoes with inserts for people with diabetes, letting a physician as defined in Medicare law (including a podiatrist) document the foot condition and attest to the diabetes diagnosis, plan of care, and need for the shoes. The shoes would have to be fitted and furnished by a physician or other qualified person, such as a pedorthist or orthotist. It would also add these shoes to the list of 'designated health services' under the federal physician self-referral law, with the Medicare shoe changes applying to items furnished on or after January 1, 2028.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• John Joyce Republican sponsor
• 67 cosponsors