HR 3263 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a floor on the work geographic index for physicians' services furnished in Hawaii.
Summary
This bill amends the Medicare program to establish a minimum floor of 1.5 on the work geographic index used to adjust Medicare reimbursement rates for physicians' services furnished in Hawaii. The work geographic index is a geographic adjustment factor that accounts for variations in practice costs across different regions. Starting January 1, 2026, if the calculated work geographic index for Hawaii would be less than 1.5, it shall be increased to 1.5, ensuring higher Medicare payment rates for physicians practicing in Hawaii. The adjustment is not required to be budget-neutral, meaning the increased reimbursement rates will result in additional Medicare spending without corresponding reductions elsewhere.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
1 cosponsor
- Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1] (D-HI)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Jill N. Tokuda’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Jill N. Tokuda → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- May 7, 2025 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. · house
- May 7, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 7, 2025
Ms. Tokuda (for herself and Mr. Case) introduced the following bill; which was 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
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a floor on the work geographic index for physicians’ services furnished in Hawaii.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Protecting Access To Care in Hawaii Act” or the “PATCH Act”.
SEC. 2. FLOOR ON WORK GEOGRAPHIC INDEX FOR PHYSICIANS’ SERVICES FURNISHED IN HAWAII.
Section 1848(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(e)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), in the matter preceding clause
(i), by striking “and (I)” and inserting “(I), and (J)”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(J) Floor on work geographic index for services furnished in hawaii.—For purposes of payment for services furnished in Hawaii on or after January 1, 2026, after calculating the work geographic index in subparagraph (A)(iii), the Secretary shall increase the work geographic index to 1.5 if such index would otherwise be less than 1.5. The preceding sentence shall not be applied in a budget neutral manner.”. <all>
Comments