Outpatient Surgery Access Act of 2026

This bill changes how Medicare sets payment rates for ambulatory surgical centers, which are outpatient facilities that perform surgeries. Starting in 2027, the yearly payment update for these centers would equal the update used for hospital outpatient departments. The bill would also stop Medicare from applying a separate budget neutrality adjustment only to surgical center payments starting in 2027. Instead, spending at surgical centers would be counted together with hospital outpatient spending when Medicare calculates budget neutrality adjustments.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Bill Cassidy Republican sponsor
• 1 cosponsors